Former President Donald Trump said he will consider re-implementing a ban on taxpayer-funded abortion funding overseas, as well as establishing religious exemptions for any government program that requires health insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF), during a October 17 interview with EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo.
The former president was interviewed in “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” Thursday night, before Al Smith Annual Dinnerorganized by the Archdiocese of New York. During the interview, he made a direct appeal to Catholic voters, spoke fondly of the Church and criticized his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, for not attending the dinner in person.
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Arroyo asked Trump several questions about abortion and fertilization in vitroparticularly if the former president would reinstate the call “Mexico City politics”which prohibits tax funds from being given to organizations that perform abortions abroad. The rule was first implemented during the Reagan administration and has been the policy of every Republican president since then, including the previous Trump administration.
“We’re going to take a very good, serious look at that,” Trump said without committing to reimplementing the policy.
Arroyo also pressed Trump to provide more details about a plan he announced in August to impose a rule in which the government or insurance companies pay for fertilization. in vitro. The Catholic Church opposes IVF because it separates procreation from the marriage act and destroys millions of human lives in the embryonic stage.
Asked if he would support a religious exemption for those who oppose IVF, Trump said: “I haven’t been asked that, but I think it’s a very good idea.”
“It’s a very popular thing, but certainly if there’s a religious issue, I think people should accept it,” the 2024 Republican presidential candidate said. “I really think they should be able to do that. But we’ll look at that.”
Trump said religious freedom is “a position I have taken from the beginning and I will maintain it.” He contrasted his approach with that of his opponent, saying: “I truly represent everything that you represent and that the Church represents. And she doesn’t. He is a very different type of person. He is a Marxist. His father was a Marxist and remains a Marxist. And they don’t like religion very much.”
“I am totally in favor of religion and I also really like the Catholic Church,” he emphasized, while expressing his confidence in emerging as a winner for voters who apply the “lesser evil” measure that Pope Francis encouraged last month to voters in American elections.
Trump sharply criticized Harris for not attending the Al Smith dinner, which both major party candidates have attended during presidential election years for nearly four decades, saying the event is “honoring the Catholic Church” and that he has been “a long-time supporter.”
“I’m surprised he’s not here,” Trump said. “I think it’s the first time in many, many decades, in fact, that she’s missed out as a candidate. It has always been a tradition. So I’m glad Catholics are going to vote for Trump now. But no, look, I have a special relationship with the Catholic Church and I think it was very important to be here.”
Arroyo also asked why Trump frequently uses the “Hail Mary” at his rallies and for his recent social media posts in honor of the Blessed Virgin and Saint Michael the Archangel. The former president said that these publications do not reflect a spiritual journey, but that he simply thinks they are “very beautiful.”
“It’s just beautiful to me,” Trump said. “I mean, I look at everything, the words and the images. The images are very beautiful.”
The country’s Catholic vote is likely to be competitive in November. According to a Pew Research Center poll from September, about 52% of Catholics support Trump and 47% support Harris.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Tyler Arnold
Tyler Arnold is a reporter for the National Catholic Register. He previously worked at The Center Square and has published in a variety of outlets, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative, and The Federalist.