‘Scandal’ actors claim Trump will try to ban abortion; his campaign team denies the claim
Madison Heights – Former members of a fictional White House staff claimed Sunday that Donald Trump would impose a nationwide abortion ban if the Republican presidential candidate is re-elected to the Oval Office in November.
A national bus tour featuring former cast members of the television drama “Scandal,” which ran on ABC from 2012 to 2018, stopped in Madison Heights for about an hour on Sunday. The show’s actors, actresses and local Democratic politicians spoke to a crowd of about 130 people in the parking lot of Plumbers Local Union 98’s headquarters.
“If any of you are wondering what in the world the cast of ‘Scandal’ is doing in Michigan, I’m going to help you understand,” said actress Kerry Washington, who played crisis management expert Olivia Pope on the TV series. “Throughout my career, whenever something shady (or) problematic is going on, my name is always trending on social media because people are saying, ‘Olivia Pope, you need to get a handle on this. Olivia Pope, come save us.'”
“But the reality is that our characters are not real… They are all the real people doing the work to protect this country at a time when we are all so vulnerable,” Washington said.
Washington warned that voters could elect Kamala Harris as president, “or we could wake up to the nightmare of having a president like we’ve had before who we know is attacking our rights,” she said. “(A man) who has consistently attacked reproductive rights in the courts and who has made it frighteningly difficult for women to get life-saving medical treatment.”
More: Trump’s answers on abortion make it harder for Michigan Republicans to neutralize Democratic attacks
Washington and other speakers at Sunday’s rally linked Trump to Project 2025, a document from the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation that the former president has said he does not support. Speakers at Sunday’s rally also repeatedly claimed that Trump plans to implement a national ban on abortion, even though Trump and his campaign have said he does not support such a ban.
“Scandal”: Actors heat up Harris-Walz supporters
‘Scandal’ actors encourage Harris-Waltz supporters and volunteers at a campaign stop in Michigan
“Since the fall of 2023, President Trump’s campaign has made it clear that only President Trump and his campaign, and NOT any other organization or former staff, represent second-term policies,” Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, said in an email Sunday. “President Trump has personally led the effort to implement 20 promises to the forgotten men and women of our country and the RNC platform – these are the only policies President Trump supports for a second term.”
“The dangerously liberal Kamala Harris and the DNC are LYING and fearmongering because they have NOTHING else to offer the American people,” Leavitt said. “…President Trump has long consistently supported states’ right to make abortion decisions and has made it very clear that he will NOT sign a federal ban if he is back in the White House. President Trump also supports universal access to contraception and IVF. In contrast, Kamala Harris and the Democrats have radically lost touch with the majority of Americans with their support for abortions up until birth and their demand that taxpayers be forced to fund those abortions.”
More: Trump’s answers on abortion make it harder for Michigan Republicans to neutralize Democratic attacks
More: ‘She should be alive today’ – Harris uses headlines about woman’s death to denounce abortion bans and Trump
More: Trump makes two more stops in Michigan as mail-in ballots become available
In an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sept. 10, Harris called the claim that Democrats support abortion up until birth “ridiculous.” But she did not go into detail when asked at what point in a pregnancy abortion should be banned.
“We need to enshrine Roe v. Wade’s protections in law,” she said when asked about a specific point at which abortion should no longer be allowed. Roe v. Wade protected abortions “until a fetus becomes viable,” which is about 23-24 weeks, although Harris opposed a bill in 2018 that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow acknowledged during Sunday’s rally that Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025 and insisted he will not push for a national abortion ban, but Stabenow said she does not believe the former president.
“When he opens his mouth, he’s not telling the truth; that’s what we know,” said Stabenow, who added that she attended political rallies with Washington during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles.
Detroit native Cornelius Smith Jr., who played civil rights activist Marcus Walker in “Scandal,” said he was proud of Michigan residents’ “history of commitment.”
“At the height of the civil rights movement, Detroiters and courageous activists laid the foundation for decades of progress, demanding equality in housing, education, employment and criminal justice,” he said. “So it’s no surprise to me that Michigan is at the forefront of one of the most important elections of our lifetimes.”
“Donald Trump and the Supreme Court have promised to take away these (reproductive) rights,” Smith said, drawing some boos.
“Boo, right?” Smith replied. “But as (former President) Barack Obama said, ‘Don’t boo…'”
“Vote!” people in the crowd answered.
Detroit-based Jakarta Kumasi Nakuru said more men should be concerned about abortion issues.
“I think women have the right to do what they want with their bodies and as men we need to support them in that,” he said. “It just seems obvious to me.”
Bria Dixon of Detroit said abortion is “one of those overarching issues.”
“There are so many other things that are tied to reproductive rights,” she said. “That’s why we need Harris in office. That’s our only option if we want to keep our rights.”
The “Scandal” bus tour began on September 3 in Palm Beach, Florida. According to a press release, the tour includes stops in Flint, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids and Marquette, among others.
(313) 222-2134
@GeorgeHunter_DN
