Planned Parenthood Praises Donald Trump for Not Being an Idiot (About Planned Parenthood)
Is Donald Trump a complete moron? Most evidence suggests “yes.” On the issue of Planned Parenthood, however, Trump appears to only be semi-moronic, a fact the organization celebrated today in the saddest quasi-endorsement ever.
“Donald Trump seems to have realized that banning all abortions, shutting down the government, and defunding Planned Parenthood are extreme positions that are way too far outside the mainstream for even him to take,” said a Planned Parenthood spokesperson on Tuesday. “We hope that the rest of the GOP field will wake up and reconsider their extreme and unpopular positions on defunding preventive care, abortion bans, and the other economic issues that women and their families care about.”
What did Trump say that was so great? Basically that Planned Parenthood is only partially “an abortion factory” and doesn’t necessarily need to be nuked from orbit. From Politico:
Speaking on CNN’s “New Day” Tuesday morning, Trump said that before defunding Planned Parenthood entirely, he would look at the positive aspects of the organization.
“I would look at the good aspects of it, and I would also look because I’m sure they do some things properly and good for women. I would look at that, and I would look at other aspects also, but we have to take care of women,” he said. “The abortion aspect of Planned Parenthood should absolutely not be funded.”
However, under current law, no government funding is allowed to go to abortions, which Planned Parenthood says make up 3 percent of its services.
That might not sound like much, but compare Trump’s position to that of fellow GOP presidential nominee Ted Cruz, who released an ad today promising to “prosecute and defund” Planned Parenthood. From Roll Call:
“If the Justice Department had integrity, it would immediately open an investigation into whether those Planned Parenthood officials who confessed to felonies on camera indeed committed criminal conduct,” Cruz said. “And it would likewise open up an investigation into whether Planned Parenthood itself is a criminal enterprise.”
“Of course federal taxpayer funds should not go to funding an ongoing criminal enterprise that is committing a pattern of felonies selling the body parts of unborn children,” Cruz said
So good job, I guess, Donald Trump. You may be dumb, but at least you’re not a Fetal Mafia-truther.