Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley made a bold statement during a CNN Town Hall when asked by host Jake Tapper about her position on abortion. When Tapper asked, “If a six-week ban theoretically came to your desk, would you sign it?” Haley asked the host to “ask [Vice President] Kamala [Harris] and [President Joe] Biden if they would agree to 37 weeks, 38 weeks, 39 weeks, then I’ll answer your question,” drawing applause from the audience.
“No one asks them that. No one asks them how late they’re willing to go,” she added.
The Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization upheld Mississippi’s law restricting abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy. President Joe Biden noted he called for Congress to pass federal legislation that would codify Roe v. Wade.
While Tapper described the Biden/Harris position as being “basically no restrictions,” Haley rebuked and said, “they said abortion up to the time of birth, right?”
Tapper then acknowledged his mistake, saying, “I was wrong about that.” He went on to add, “President Biden last fall was asked, would he support any restrictions? His answer was that he did. And his basic position, President Biden’s, is to codify Roe v. Wade, which would mean abortion is legal until 20 weeks of pregnancy.”
Haley’s bold response to Tapper shows her desire for a “national consensus” on abortion, which she called for at an April 25 press conference at the headquarters of the Susan B. Anthony List. Her refusal to accept Jake Tapper’s question without demanding the same of Biden and Harris reflects her unwillingness to accept a double standard.
You know, and this could just be my opinion, but maybe CNN needs to hang up their sad attempts of pulling off a town hall. They’re always unprepared and their hosts are unable to hold back their own biases. At the end, I always just feel embarrassed for them.