Donald Trump frequently repeats that he intends to "look into it" when asked about a specific policy — now he's punted so many time his stance on multiple issues is "remarkably unclear," a Washington Post columnist wrote.
Trump spoke to one local news affiliate this week, where he claimed he was looking into a plan to restrict contraception for women. He has since tried to walk it back, but such flubs might be why Trump is dodging questions on policy positions, Aaron Blake wrote.
The columnist crafted a list of the issues he said the former president has now "punted' on.
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In April, Trump was asked about the abortion drug mifepristone, which right-wingers are trying to have banned. He appeared to have a secret plan about it, that he explained people don't yet need to know.
“Well, I have an opinion on that, but I’m not going to explain. I’m not gonna say it yet. But I have pretty strong views on that. And I’ll be releasing it probably over the next week," he told TIME in April. The views have yet to be revealed.
One of the ways a potential ban has been sidestepped has been by having the medication made available through the mail. Republicans have figured out a way around that too, using The Comstock Act. They're working to ban both mifepristone and contraception from being sent through the mail.
“I will be making a statement on that over the next 14 days," said Trump in the TIME interview. The reporter asked Trump about it again 15 days later. "Yeah, I have a big statement on that. I feel very strongly about it. I actually think it’s a very important issue," Blake wrote.
"I’ll be doing it over the next week or two," he said.
On Wednesday, 25 days had passed.
On a federal abortion ban, Trump said it would never happen without 60 votes in the Senate, so he has decided to fudge taking a position on it, Blake wrote.
When it comes to the specifics, such as the belief that an embryo is a human, Trump wants nothing to do with it. Instead of answering where he stands or what kind of judges he would nominate, he said he'd just leave it up to the states.
But his party members have discussed punishing women or imprisoning them for abortion. Trump even went so far as to say, "There has to be some form of punishment" because it is a "very serious problem."
"For the women?" then host Chris Matthews asked Trump.
"Yes," Trump agreed.
"Many of his punts involve reproductive rights, but not all. Trump will often promise a position shortly, then never provide one," Blake wrote.
Among other issues he lists are Ukraine aid and whether Trump would pardon himself if convicted.
