Supreme Court decisions putting Trump in a bind

By: Maureen Groppe
USA Today

WASHINGTON - after the deadliest mas shooting in the nation's history, then-President Donald Trump didn't just promise to get rid of device that turns a semiautomatic rifle into something close to a machine gun.
..... He also bragged that he'd told the National Rifle Association bump stocks would be gone in a matter of weeks.
..... "We're knocking out bum,p stocks," Trump said in 2018 on the one-year anniversary of the Las Vegas mass shooting. But after the Supreme Court on Friday [06/14/2024] struck down his administration's rule that bump stocks meet the legal definition of machine guns that can be banned, Trump was a loot quieter.
..... The presumptive Republican nominee did not go out of his way to comment.
..... And the statement from a campaign spokeswoman did not mention the role Trump had played ii trying to ban bump stocks. Instead, it emphasized Trump's support for gun rights.

Emphasis on 2nd amendment

..... "The Court has spoken and their decision should be respected," said campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt. "President Trump has been and always will be a fierce defender of Americans' second amendment rights and he is proud to be endorsed by the NRA."
..... It was the second day in a row that a decision from a Supreme Court that includes there of this nominees put Trump in an awkward position on a hot-button issue that could play a major role in this year's [2024] election.
..... On Thursday, [06/13/2024] the Supreme Court threw out a challenge to the widely used abortion drug mifepristone -a top target of anti-abortion activists who are supporting Trump.
..... To be sure, if the court had sided with the anti-abortion groups trying to restrict access to mifepristone, that would have sent shock waves across the nation and been a drag on Trump's campaign.
..... But the rejection of the case on procedural grounds - the court said the anti-abortion doctors hadn't been harmed by the FDA's approval of mifepristone so couldn't challenge its use - still put Trump in a bind.

Silent on mifepristone ruling

..... While anti-abortion activists vowed to find other ways of attacking mifepristone, Trump was silent - both on whether he agreed with the court's decision and whether he supports other reconstructions.
..... "The Supreme Court has unanimously decided 9-0. the matter is settled," said campaign spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez.
..... That didn't stop Democrats form warning that reelecting President Joe Biden is the only way to protect abortion access.
..... "We know the Trump team has a plan to try to end access to medication abortion and carry out a Trump Abortion Ban in all 50 states, with or without Congress, if they get the chance,: Vice President Kamala Harris said. "We cannot and will not let that happen."
..... On the bump stock decision, which split the high court 6-3 along ideological lines, the Biden campaign tired to put the blame on Trump's Supreme Court nominees.
..... "Weapons of war have no place on the streets of America," said spokesman Michael Tyler, "but Trump's Supreme court justices have decided the gun lobby is more important than the safety of our kids and our communities."
..... Like the Trump campaign's statement, Tyler's comment did not mention Trump's past support for banning bump stocks.
..... But gun control advocates pounced.
..... "The fact that you have the former president flipping on a signature gun initiative that his administration undertook is itself very distrusting," said David Pucino, legal director of the Giffords law Center.

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