Democrats Challenge Republicans on Abortion in Milwaukee

(left to right) Amanda Zurawski, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Quentin Fulks and U.S. Rep Veronica Escobar. Photo taken July 17, 2024 by Graham Kilmer.

With the Republican Party and the national political press in Milwaukee all week, Democrats have decided to parachute in and hold press conferences on behalf of President Joe Biden‘s re-election campaign attacking Republicans over their new party platform.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar from Texas’ 16th District joined Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks to challenge the Republican messaging being broadcast to the world from the Fiserv Forum and argue the case for the Democratic agenda.

In the Railway Exchange building, just a few blocks from Donald Trump‘s room at the Pfister Hotel, the Democrats sought to further associate Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party with the right-wing policy document called Project 2025, and to articulate their party’s support for reproductive rights in contrast to the Republican Party’s support for abortion bans.

The message, in fact, was printed on the podium: “Project 2025: Ban Abortion, Punish Women.”

While Trump has attempted to distance himself from Project 2025, created by the conservative think-tank The Heritage Foundation, CNN found that at least 140 people who worked for him were involved in its creation. It was created as a policy roadmap for a second Trump presidency and includes a number of far-reaching proposals including a national abortion ban. However, as that policy has proven a weak point for Republican candidates, Trump has softened the party’s stance, removing a national ban from the 2024 party platform this week.

Democrats leaned heavily into the differences between the parties on abortion, which remains a critical issue in the 2024 election. Amanda Zurawski of Texas joined the politicos during their presser in Milwaukee. She shared the harrowing story of a pregnancy complication that almost cost her life because abortion became illegal in Texas after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022.

“The Trump-Vance ticket does not care about women,” Escobar said. “And we are here to sound the alarm about what’s at stake in this November election, especially for women.”

Escobar noted that women across the country are living under abortion bans, adding, “It is an abomination that this is the vision that they have for all American women.”

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are running on a different vision, Escobar said. “That is a vision where we trust women, where we want to protect women’s reproductive freedom, where we recognize that abortion is healthcare, where we recognize that these bans are deadly and dangerous and harmful.”

Zurawski told reporters that Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, has an “extreme” record on abortion, supporting a national abortion ban that does not include exceptions for rape or incest. Our campaign is going to continue to talk about the issue [of abortion],” Fulks said. “We’re going to continue to have people like Amanda [Zurawski] telling their story, because unfortunately, they’re far too common.”

When asked about the Republican’s hardline immigration policies and rhetoric, Escobar said Americans should do a “deep dive” on Project 2025 and read the “terrifying blueprint” for Republican control of the federal government. Republicans are advocating for “the most extreme anti-immigration policies,” Escobar said, including Trump, who has called for “mass deportations.”