Anti-abortion leaders admit they were ‘fooled’ by Trump one year into his presidency: ‘He’s made things significantly worse’

Prominent anti-abortion activists have blasted President Donald Trump’s “lack of action” one year into his presidency and claim he “fooled” the pro-life movement.

Pro-life campaigners have accused the president of making “things significantly worse,” with grievances about his inaction on restricting abortion pills and approving a new generic version of mifepristone. They’re also unhappy with remarks Trump made earlier this month that called for Republicans to be “flexible” on an amendment that would ban federal funding from being used to cover the cost of abortion.

There was also anger after the Department of Health and Human Services quietly restored tens of millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood that had been withheld since last spring. The administration is still fighting in court to pursue bigger federal cuts to the organization’s services that were approved last summer.

Trump “said he wouldn’t restrict abortion, and he’s done exactly that,” anti-abortion campaigner Abby Johnson told NOTUS.

“One day, the pro-life movement is going to realize that he’s not the pro-life president that they were hoping for,” she continued. “One day, they’re going to realize they have all been fooled by this man.”

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“They’re going to stop saying that he’s the most pro-life president that we’ve ever had,” Johnson added.

The comments come as Trump addressed pro-life campaigners Friday in a pre-recorded video message for the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.

While the pro-life lobby has celebrated Trump’s pardoning of activists convicted of obstructing the entrances to abortion clinics in June, and Trump’s Supreme Court picks overturning Roe v Wade in 2022, Johnson claimed the president has “betrayed” the movement.

Disagreements over abortion coverage are holding up bipartisan Senate negotiations on revising federal healthcare subsidies that expired in December, leaving millions of Americans with higher premiums.

Republicans were seeking stronger curbs on abortion coverage for those who purchase insurance off the marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act, while Democrats strongly opposed any such changes.

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Earlier this month, Trump told his party, “you have to be a little flexible on Hyde,” referring to the law that bans using federal funds to cover abortions. The remark left Republicans confused about how to proceed, and the pro-life lobby alarmed.

After his comments, 17 Republicans voted with Democrats on the extension over the objections of GOP leadership and the House passed the bill with no new abortion restrictions.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, said that “abortion drugs and the forced taxpayer funding of abortion are the most urgent issues” for the movement. The group’s spokesperson Kelsey Pritchard previously said those who voted for the extension “would pay the price in the midterms.”

The White House has maintained that Trump is “the most pro-life and pro-family president in American history,” but his position on abortion has been inconsistent over the years.

Comments from a 1999 NBC interview resurfaced during the 2016 presidential election. “I’m very pro-choice,” Trump said at the time. “I hate the concept of abortion. I hate it. I hate everything it stands for,” adding: “But you still — I just believe in choice.”

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His position appeared to change between 2000 and 2011, which he explained in a 2015 debate was because a child of a friend “was going to be aborted. And it wasn’t aborted. And that child today is a total superstar, a great, great child.”

In 2016, Trump said in a statement that his position “has not changed — like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions.”

White House spokesperson Kush Desai told NOTUS that “the spate of actions that the Trump administration has taken this week alone on abortion reaffirm the President’s commitment to life.”

Ahead March for Life, the Trump administration rolled out several anti-abortion policy announcements.

The actions include plans to block funds going to organizations abroad that promote or provide abortions, and the National Institutes of Health announced it will “no longer support research using human fetal tissue.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting