Trump takes credit for Dobbs decision but worries it 'won't help him in the future'

Former President Donald Trump said Friday that the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization was "the biggest WIN for LIFE in a generation" and was "only made possible" by his three Supreme Court appointees.

During a 2016 presidential debate, Trump predicted that Roe v. Wade (1973), which established abortion as a constitutional right, would be overturned "automatically" if he were elected and given the chance to "put another two or perhaps three" pro-life justices on the Supreme Court. Trump's words proved prophetic. All three of his appointees — Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — voted to overturn Roe.

Privately, however, Trump has expressed concerns about the political consequences of the Dobbs decision.

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Two of Trump's advisors told The Washington Post that the former president favors limiting abortion rather than banning it and has complained that a too-zealous crackdown on abortion rights could hurt Republicans in the suburbs.

"He is convinced it won't help him in the future," one advisor said of Trump's response to the Dobbs decision. Trump has teased repeatedly that he plans to run for president in 2024.