Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Arizona ruling reverberates; Trump's first criminal trial is just ahead

Abbreviated Pundit Roundup is a long-running series published every morning that collects essential political discussion and analysis around the internet.

Laurie Roberts/AZ Central:

Abortion ruling is a full-on disaster for Arizona Republicans

Opinion: With the return of an 1864 abortion ban, Republicans now face a five-alarm fire that could consume their grip on Arizona. If you are Trump or Kari Lake, you are freaking out right now.

But how does a MAGA Legislature extract itself from the box it built?

If Republicans repeal the 1864 law now about to take effect, they make a mockery of their own belief that life begins at conception and all abortion is murder.

If they put a competing measure on the ballot, proposing that abortion be legal for up to 15 weeks, they risk alienating their voter base and send a message that the “ultimate sin” is negotiable.

And if they do nothing, disaster.

I’m not posting any pieces on O.J. Simpson’s death and life, but you can certainly discuss it in the comments. If you’re old enough, you know that the trial verdict wasn’t set by a televised Bronco chase or an ill-fitting glove with a catchy phrase, it was set by the LAPD’s treatment of Rodney King.

Josh Marshall/Talking Points Memo:

Trump Feels on the Run on Abortion

Today in Atlanta a reporter asked Trump whether he would sign a national abortion ban if Congress sent one to him as President. He said he would not. A clear “no.” He got asked again, and again said no. It should go without saying that there’s zero reason to believe him. If Congress passed such a law he would almost certainly sign it. But that’s not what’s interesting here. He very conspicuously did not say this in his abortion mini-speech on Monday. It’s not like he didn’t know that was an option. He and his campaign very strategically did not say this. Now he has. It is a very clear sign of just how much Trump and his campaign feel like they’re on the run and on the ropes on this issue, partly because the Monday announcement was generally ineffective and even more after the bombshell news yesterday out of Arizona. Just two days later and they’re already having to do repair work on his big announcement that was supposed to sidestep the issue for the campaign.

POLITICO:

The price of a conservative judiciary? Donald Trump is about to find out.

Trump’s Monday announcement that abortion should be left to the states was supposed to neutralize an issue that has dogged Republican candidates. But by Tuesday it was clear that it was futile to try.

Trump’s Monday announcement that abortion should be left to the states was supposed to neutralize an issue that has dogged Republican candidates since Roe v. Wade was overturned nearly two years ago. But by Tuesday — when an Arizona court ruled that an 1864 near-total abortion ban was enforceable — it was clear that it was futile to try to leave the issue behind.

Before Tuesday, “Arizona leaned Trump,” said Barrett Marson, an Arizona-based GOP strategist. “I would put Arizona now as lean Biden.”

Trump, sensing as much, tried Wednesday to distance himself from the decision.

Axios:

Arizona's abortion ban upends 2024 election

State of play: A handful of Republican state lawmakers said Tuesday they would push for a swift repeal of the near-total ban from 1864 and reinstate a 15-week version enacted in 2022.

• Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) and House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Glendale) said in a joint statement they'll review the ruling, talk with their colleagues and listen to constituents "to determine the best course of action."

Yes, but: Toma tells Axios that he wouldn't support a repeal and wouldn't permit a vote on it.

• He is in a competitive primary for the heavily Republican 8th Congressional District.

David R Lurie/Public Notice:

Trump's deeply misogynist lie about moms killing babies

It reveals a fear of women's empowerment he shares with the Christian right.

On Monday, Donald Trump released a video announcing his much heralded abortion “policy.” The statement was typically garbled, deliberately vague, and chock full of absurd assertions.

For example, Trump bizarrely asserted that that “both sides wanted and, in fact, demanded” that Roe v. Wade be “ended.” His suggestion is that the entire nation was clamoring for the end of reproductive rights that he engineered with his Supreme Court nominations, when in fact national polling shows that a solid majority supports legal abortion. 

[...]

As has long been typical, many in the press misreported the gist of the statement. A New York Times headline declared that Trump had said “Abortion Restrictions Should Be Left to the States.” This is incorrect, and gives Trump undeserved credit for his typical, and deliberate, ambiguity.

Trump did not say he would refuse to sign a federal abortion ban into law, and his record is to the contrary. He supported a federal 20-week ban when he was in the White House and said was “disappoint[ed]” when it was filibustered in the Senate.

Oh, and by the way, Reuters reminds us what’s coming:

Trump loses third bid this week to delay hush money trial

Steven Wu, a lawyer for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office, said Trump's lawyers had brought the requests too late.

"There is a powerful public interest in ensuring that this criminal trial go forward," Wu said.