Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) sparked the ire of President Donald Trump’s political advisors in the White House with his latest push to focus on pro-life messaging on abortion ahead of the midterm elections, reported Axios on Monday.
Axios’s Alex Isenstadt reported on the fury inside the Trump White House over Hawley’s announcement last week that he and his wife, constitutional lawyer Erin Hawley, are launching a new dark-money political group named the Love Life Initiative.
“Trump’s lieutenants believe the move by Hawley — a vocal populist who speaks up for the working class — is part of a plan to position himself to challenge Vice President Vance for the presidency in 2028,” explained Isenstadt on the impact of top Trump advisors speaking out against Hawley, albeit anonymously.
“Clearly, Senator Hawley and his political team learned nothing from the 2022 elections, when the SCOTUS abortion ruling [overturning Roe v. Wade] resuscitated the Democrats in the midterms,” said one of the two advisors Axios spoke to.
Isenstadt reported on his conversation with a “second Trump adviser who’s deeply involved in midterm strategy said the GOP needs to focus instead on ‘aggressive action focused on positive gains in the economy.’” The adviser told him:
That alone will be the driving force behind the next election. Picking a fight on an issue like abortion in a midterm is the height of asinine stupidity.
While pro-life messaging remains popular within the GOP base, strategists looking to win key swing states and the national popular vote are undoubtedly worried about the 51% of Americans who call themselves pro-choice, according to a recent Gallup poll. Only 43% of Americans view themselves as pro-life, making the issue a tenuous one for the GOP.
