Up until 2011, Donald Trump was on one side of an issue so salient for the Republican party that there is no way that he ever would have been able to secure the nomination, he was pro-choice. Going back all the way to 1991, Trump was “pro-choice in every aspect” refusing to ban partial birth abortions. But when he first decided to change his position before running in the Republican primary, he had to reassure people that he wasn’t just another flip flopping politician. And for all of Donald’s failings this seems to be one area he has been particularly adept at. His first problem was how he hoped to explain his prior 20 years of pro-choice rhetoric. His tactic was actually spot on for what it needed to be. He told the story of a couple he knew deciding or not whether to keep a baby they would soon have. He said they decided to keep the baby and as the father would say later “[his daughter] is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to him”. Not only did he personalize his message, he played on one of the strongest bonds most people have, that of a parent and child. Whether or not that story is true or just something he crafted doesn’t really matter because he’s solidly cemented himself as a staunch pro-life candidate. Even during the last debate, he attacked Hillary for her position on abortion. He used harsh and violent rhetoric that stuck in people’s minds much more that Hillary’s attempt at a response.
Of all the policy that Trump has gone back and forth on and of all the numerous scandals plaguing his campaign, his stance on abortion has managed to stay firmly rooted. This is because, while it may be what he believes, this may be his best in to reaching women voters that as dissatisfied with Hillary but think Trump is too much of a wild card. By consistently staying on message on an issue that women care deeply about, Trump is trying to gain back a percentage of the people Hillary thinks are squarely in her camp. Especially by softening his position on planned parenthood, he has emerged as a candidate that has cares about women’s issues which he hopes is enough to counter some of the comments he’s made in public.
It is nice to see that Trump cares, at least somewhat, about the female vote. Throughout this election, his words and actions have not shown that he is interested in gaining their support. As he does things like soften his stance about Planned Parenthood, he’s working (albeit slowly) to gain the people back who were once undoubtedly against him. We will see next week if it actually makes a difference.