<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3bBQuG_0vFe9ZO400" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3bBQuG_0vFe9ZO400" width="1400" height="787" >MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: So candidate Donald Trump, meanwhile, worked to counterprogram the vice president and her running mate, Tim Walz. At that interview on CNN that we just talked about, the former president held a town hall in the key battleground state of Wisconsin.STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: In two events Thursday, in fact, Trump tried out some new material mixed in with his usual talking points about immigration and inflation. He traveled to Michigan as well as Wisconsin.MARTIN: Minnesota Public Radio's Clay Masters was at that event in La Crosse, and he's with us now. Good morning, Clay.CLAY MASTERS, BYLINE: Good morning.MARTIN: So Trump started his town hall with a question about IVF - in vitro fertilization - a bit of a different topic for him. This came after he told a reporter earlier in the day that he wanted IVF to be covered by the federal government or mandated with private insurance. Did he talk about this later Thursday?MASTERS: Yeah, the question at this - what the campaign called a town hall came from former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who is the moderator of this event put on by the campaign. She told a story about how she and her husband tried for years to get pregnant with IVF and were unsuccessful. Of course, IVF is a surprise political issue in the post-Roe reproductive rights landscape. Trump reiterated what he said earlier in the day to an NBC News reporter in Michigan that he supports IVF and wants it to be widely available.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)DONALD TRUMP: We are - government is going to pay for it, or we're going to get or mandate your insurance company to pay for it...(CHEERING)TRUMP: ...Which is going to be great.MASTERS: And I should note, Trump did not provide any specific details whatsoever.MARTIN: And, of course, this is part of a bigger change in rhetoric around reproductive rights that Trump has been trying out. And, you know, abortion being a primary issue here, did he talk about that?MASTERS: Well, in that same NBC News interview earlier Thursday, Trump indicated he would vote in favor of abortion rights in Florida's ballot measure. The campaign was quick to push back after the interview, saying President Trump has not yet said how he will vote on the ballot initiative in Florida. He simply reiterated that he believes six weeks is too short. Florida has a six-week abortion ban in effect right now.But abortion is clearly still an issue Trump is wrestling with. He didn't last night, but he regularly touts being the one who, you know, appointed the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. In Wisconsin last night, he used the issue to criticize Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. He accused Walz of supporting abortions into the third trimester of pregnancy, though he did not back that up with any evidence.MARTIN: So you just said that he's been using abortion as a way - or he's trying out this attack line against Tim Walz. With Walz new to the ticket, what are his storylines? Like, what are - how are his attacks shaping up?MASTERS: Yeah, La Crosse, Wis. - right across the Mississippi River from Minnesota, so there were a lot of people in the audience from the neighboring state. A woman from Minnesota got up to ask a question about crime and just mentioning the home of Harris' running mate just riled up Trump. Pivoting quickly to a label that Walz has given Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, Trump is kind of working to flip the script.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)TRUMP: He's not weird, and I'm not weird. I mean, we're a lot of things. We're not weird, I will tell you. But that guy is weird, don't you think?MASTERS: So Trump went on to talk about a bill Walz signed in Minnesota that made tampons available in school bathrooms. Walz is giving Trump a lot to work with. But Trump is clearly still unsure what his line of attack is going to be against the Democratic vice presidential nominee.MARTIN: That is Minnesota Public Radio's Clay Masters. Clay, thank you.MASTERS: You're welcome.Copyright © 2024 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.</div></body>

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Trump says he'll support free IVF treatments in a second term

So candidate Donald Trump, meanwhile, worked to counterprogram the vice president and her running mate, Tim Walz. At that interview on CNN that we just talked about, the former president held a town hall in the key battleground state of Wisconsin. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:. In two events Thursday, in fact,...

Trump says he'll support free IVF treatments in a second term

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