President Trump will reportedly speak to the March for Life, the annual gathering of anti-choice activists commemorating the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, on Friday.
Trump will speak to the event via satellite from the White House—even though the march is held just down the street on the National Mall—but it is still a big deal for the anti-choice movement. Trump has become a hero to the movement, handing them a Supreme Court justice who they hope will help overturn Roe v. Wade and filling administration roles with anti-choice activists. Last year, just one week after Trump was inaugurated, both Vice President Mike Pence and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway spoke at the march, with both dedicating their speeches to singing the praises of Trump.
As Trump and high-level administration officials met with Religious Right leaders throughout the year, they frequently reminded them of the fact that Pence and Conway had spoken at the 2017 March for Life. Given that the anti-choice movement’s priority legislation has largely stalled in Congress, Trump’s appearance at this year’s march seems at least in part aimed at refilling those coffers of good will until the president gets another chance at a Supreme Court appointment.
On cue, the Susan B. Anthony List reacted to the news by releasing a video on “President Trump’s Pro-Life Wins”:
Recent revelations of more non-exactly-pious behavior from the president do not seem to have turned off the march’s organizers. Neither have his most recent racist remarks about immigrants, despite the fact that some of the Catholic groups that organize around the march have historically also advocated for immigrants’ rights.
