Donald
Trump's suggestion that women who get abortions should face "some form
of punishment" if the practice is banned is giving the #NeverTrump
movement new urgency.
Faced
with the prospect of Trump as the party's standard bearer, Republicans
from across the ideological spectrum quickly condemned Trump's assertion
-- but not before Democrats showed the damage Trump's words could have
on the GOP.
And
in what was a clear acknowledgment of the stakes, Trump did something
he has rarely done in this campaign -- back away from his statement
within hours.
His comments, which
go against the GOP's anti-abortion stance, brought new potency to the
anti-Trump wing of the party, including conservative radio hosts and
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, looking to stop Trump in next week's
primary. Trump was already facing a media uproar this week over his
comments about Heidi Cruz and over his handling of an incident involving his campaign manager and a female reporter that led to an arrest summons.
Of course, Trump has shown himself to be
an unstoppable force who has offended pretty much everyone at this
point without much harm to his poll numbers. But for Republicans worried
about the damage Trump could do at the top of the ticket with
off-the-cuff or controversial quotes, Democrats, including presidential
front-runner Hillary Clinton, gave a harsh reminder.
"The Republicans all line up together," Clinton said in an interview ."Now
maybe they aren't quite as open about it as Donald Trump was earlier
today, but they all have the same position," she said, noting
anti-abortion positions taken by both John Kasich and Ted Cruz. "If you
make abortion a crime -- you make it illegal -- then you make women and
doctors criminals."
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