The Biden campaign has been eager to link Trump to stories of women across the country who have been denied abortions

Joe Raedle/Getty Images; JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images

By Nicole Gaudiano

When Kamala Harris launches her reproductive rights tour later this month, she’ll lay the blame for abortion bans squarely on former President Donald Trump, the likely GOP presidential nominee who brags that he was “the most pro-life president in American history.”

The vice president will begin her nationwide tour on January 22, the anniversary of the landmark Roe v Wade decision that was overturned in 2022 with help from Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices, triggering a series of GOP-led state laws limiting abortion rights. And she’ll start in Wisconsin, a battleground state that has already signaled support for abortion rights in the recent election of a state supreme court justice.

“She will highlight the chaos and cruelty created by Trump all across the country when it comes to women's health care,” said Quentin Fulks, President Joe Biden’s principal deputy campaign manager, on a call with reporters this week.

Abortion has been a winning issue in recent elections for Democrats, and the Biden campaign has been eager to link Trump to stories of pregnant women across the country who have been denied abortions under state laws.

But it's an open question as to whether Harris is an effective messenger in the eyes of American voters, given her very low approval ratings.

As Harris continues to run with the issue, it’s another opportunity for her to emerge from negative news stories, sagging poll numbers and Republican attacks and fire back with a potentially potent campaign message. Most Americans support abortion rights in all or most cases.

“She's struggled, as many vice presidents do in that role, and I think this is a great opportunity for her to be a huge asset for the campaign,” said Mark Longabaugh, a Democratic strategist. “This issue is an incredibly powerful issue for Democrats. And, you know, as a woman and as the Vice President, I just think she can deliver that message very effectively.”

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Trump has not backed a national abortion ban and he has criticized his primary opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for signing a six-week ban. But he has played up his role in appointing Supreme Court justices whose ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe, which granted the Constitutional right to an abortion.

“I was able to kill Roe v. Wade, much to the “shock” of everyone, and for the first time put the Pro Life movement in a strong negotiating position over the Radicals that are willing to kill babies even into their 9th month, and beyond,” he wrote on Truth Social in May.

Since the ruling, Harris has been the administration’s leading messenger on abortion rights, holding meetings in 16 states and bringing together hundreds of leading public officials and advocates on the issue. The White House announced her nationwide tour in December as a continuation of her fight against “extremist attacks” on rights, a key theme of the Biden campaign.

Rachel Bitecofer, a political strategist, said it’s smart for Harris to be the one to lean into abortion as a key issue in the race, especially in the face of Republican attacks against her. Republicans have made Harris a target as she has faced approval ratings that have long been underwater.

“They try to marginalize her because she’s going to be the frontrunner for 2028,” Bitecofer said, adding that it showcases what Harris brings to the table.

Since becoming vice president, Harris has grappled with finding a dominant issue that she could champion, struggling to get traction on either immigration or voting rights. Some White House allies have said Harris was initially reluctant to make abortion her dominant issue, but those around her said she seized upon the issue shortly after the Supreme Court decision.

Harris has been a “fierce defender of Americans' freedoms nationwide” after “unprecedented attacks on women's reproductive rights in Wisconsin and across the country,” said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler.

Wikler has been encouraging Democrats to lean into the topic of abortion since April, when a progressive County Circuit Court judge in Wisconsin backed by the state party crushed her conservative opponent in a nonpartisan state Supreme Court race by an 11-percentage-point margin after she made her personal views supporting abortion rights clear.

Biden carried Wisconsin in 2020 but Trump won there in 2016. It’s a good place for Harris to start her tour, Wikler said.

“Last April, we saw historic turnout across the state for an off-year state Supreme Court election—because voters here understood that the freedoms Americans had counted on for decades were on the ballot like never before,” he said. “Now, in 2024, the choice for voters is between national protections or a national abortion ban, and Wisconsin could tip the entire country.”

Amie Parnes contributed to this story.

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Kamala Harris to Highlight ‘Chaos and Cruelty Created by Trump’ in Abortion Rights Tour