U.S. News

Harris blames Trump for Roe v. Wade reversal in new interview as reproductive rights tour begins

By Jake Beardslee · January 22, 2024

In an interview with CNN in Wisconsin on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris blamed former President Donald Trump for the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, stating that he is “proud that women are silently suffering” without guaranteed abortion rights.

Harris accused Trump of clearly expressing his intention to overturn Roe while in office. She claimed that as the likely 2024 Republican nominee, Trump takes pride in the restrictive new abortion laws that have emerged across the U.S. since the Court’s ruling. “By inference, he is proud that women have been deprived of fundamental freedoms to make decisions about their own body; by inference, proud that doctors are being penalized and criminalized for providing health care, proud that women are silently suffering because they don’t have access to the health care they need,” Harris stated.

The vice president rejected Trump’s assertions that the legal issues he currently faces amount to “political persecution” by the Biden administration, bluntly saying “What he’s saying is not factual, period.”

Harris urged vigilance against any erosion of democracy in the lead-up to the 2024 election, including intimidation of poll workers. “It is important that we all remember that a hallmark of a democracy is civic participation. Which means let’s all vote – I’m not telling you who to vote for, but please, in the midst of all that you’ve got going on, take the time to fill out a ballot if you can vote by mail and send it in,” she said.

With Democrats concerned that the stakes of the election have not registered with enough voters, Harris worked to underscore them. She said those who committed violence on January 6 “need to be taken into account and held accountable for those acts” and accused Republicans of “playing politics” on immigration.

Harris and Biden plan to make abortion a core theme as they seek reelection. The vice president will embark on a national “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms Tour” through March to speak about the issue. She stated, “I am going to do exactly what I’m doing here in Wisconsin, which is traveling in the country to remind people of not only what is at stake and the harm that is occurring every day, so many women silently suffering, but also remind them of the connection between their vote and an outcome that puts back in place the protections of Roe. So these months are going to matter.”