(NewsNation) — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she “100%” supports Trump’s stance on abortion because he’s not “forcing anyone’s opportunity to end a pregnancy.”
During NewsNation’s town hall Wednesday, panelists discussed women’s reproductive rights ahead of the 2024 election. Palin said she’s supportive of the former president making abortions “a states issue via the court.”
“He (Trump) is supportive of the Supreme Court deciding Roe v. Wade, which should have been reversed a long time ago, to allow the state to have the people vote on it,” Palin said.
Stephen A. Smith challenged Palin to consider that “federal rights are being stripped.”
Smith referenced Michelle Obama‘s recent speech at a rally in Michigan, where she said women’s lives would be at risk if Donald Trump returned to the White House. The former first lady described dangerous limitations on health care for women.
Palin responded by saying she believed Obama was “trying to paint a picture of women not having as many rights as men. … America is a land of equal opportunity.”
Town hall audience member ‘baffled’ by Palin’s remarks on abortion
Democratic strategist Jenna Arnold said she was “baffled” by what Sarah Palin said about Trump’s abortion stance.
“Nobody really understands how infuriated women are,” said Arnold, an audience member at NewsNation’s Cuomo town hall. “I am so baffled how you (Palin) believe what you believe.”
Sarah Palin: Gender impacts election polling
Palin also discussed how gender impacts polling ahead of the election. Polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are currently neck and neck.
“I personally don’t feel that gender is a big darn deal in this race,” Palin said. However, she does have an issue when men are arguing about abortion.
“When men talk about a woman’s feelings and what they go through to make the decision, I say, you guys, you don’t know, you haven’t been there,” Palin said. “That’s when gender does become an issue.”
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., diverged from Palin and believes the Dobbs Supreme Court decision does explain much of today’s gender gap.
“We had Roe v. Wade for many, many years. It was a right of women to make that choice with their bodies, and it’s overwhelmingly popular,” Khanna said.