Anti-abortion evangelicals fume that Trump is treating them like a 'second-class constituency'

Former President Donald Trump may not have the rock-solid support among American evangelicals that he once enjoyed heading into the 2024 Republican primary.

In interviews with Rolling Stone, many leaders of the anti-abortion movement said they were struck by the fact that Trump did not tout the role his Supreme Court justices played in overturning Roe v. Wade during his 2024 campaign announcement.

“Pro-life voters will not take a back seat or be treated like a second-class constituency,” said Lila Rose, the founder of anti-abortion advocacy group Live Action. “Pro-life voters are a powerful block, and we demand more than just lip service… The candidate who takes the boldest stance in defense of our nation’s most vulnerable should earn the pro-life vote.”

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students For Life of America, similarly told Rolling Stone that "former President Trump’s silence about abortion in his long speech announcing his candidacy sent a message, and we heard it loud and clear."

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Hawkins went on to explain that the anti-abortion movement has not won a final victory over reproductive rights and that it will need a crusader who prioritizes further restrictions on the procedure.

Rolling Stone notes that a number of leading evangelicals have been lukewarm on Trump's return, with former Trump spiritual adviser James Robison going so far as to compare him to a “little elementary schoolchild.”