Presidential debate: Trump denies consulting with Vance about vetoing a federal abortion ban

Former President Donald Trump said he has not consulted with his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), on whether he would veto an abortion ban if he were to retake the Oval Office in the 2024 election .

Vance said last month that he could “absolutely commit” that Trump would veto a federal abortion ban, saying that the leader of the Republican Party “wants to end this culture war over this particular topic.”

But Trump himself told ABC News moderators during the debate in Philadelphia with Vice President Kamala Harris that he has not consulted with Vance about vetoing a national abortion ban.

“I didn’t discuss it with J.D., in all fairness,” Trump said. “I don’t mind if he has a certain view, but I think he was speaking for me.”

The former president has drawn significant ire from anti-abortion advocates during the election cycle for backing away from the more conservative base of the Republican Party on abortion-related issues.

Trump denied during the debate any need to discuss either a federal abortion ban or codifying protections for abortion, saying it would be impossible to get the necessary votes.

Although Harris has stressed she will sign federal abortion protections that would nullify what she Trump abortion bans in the states that restrict gestational age limits for the procedure, Trump said “it’s just talk” because there would not be enough votes to get legislation through both chambers of Congress.

“She'll never get the vote,” Trump said. “It’s impossible for her to get the vote, especially now with 50/50 essentially, 50/50 in both the Senate and the House. She's not going to get the vote. She can't get the vote.”

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Trump’s statements mirror those of former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who said during her Republican primary campaign that discussing federal abortion legislation is moot unless there are strong majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Meanwhile, however, voters in swing states strongly support some sort of federal standard for abortion and do not support setting gestational age limits on a state-by-state basis.