Politics

Trump Confronts Cuomo On Late-Term Abortion

(Fox News, Getty Images)

Saagar Enjeti White House Correspondent
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President Donald Trump raised his concerns about the Democratic embrace of late-term abortion legislation during a Tuesday evening Oval Office meeting, the White House said in a readout.

“The president raised his concerns to Governor Cuomo about Democrats’ support of late-term abortions,” deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a Tuesday evening statement. The two leaders also discussed “the positive impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on the American economy, and the president listened to the governor’s concerns regarding SALT. The president reiterated the negative impact that high taxes in states like New York have on hardworking families and job creators.”

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 7: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks about reproductive rights at Barnard College, January 7, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 7: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks about reproductive rights at Barnard College, January 7, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Deere continued, “The president discussed economic growth opportunities for the state of New York, including helping lower energy prices throughout the entire Northeast by allowing low-cost, American energy to thrive with fracking and pipeline systems. The two also discussed the need to update America’s outdated infrastructure system.”

Trump has blasted late-term abortion proponents in New York state and Virginia in recent days, raising the issue in his State of the Union address: “To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb.”  (RELATED: Capitol Hill Democrats Respond To Late-Term Abortion Debate Within Party)

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 7: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks about reproductive rights at Barnard College, January 7, 2019 in New York City. The two Democrats shared the stage to promote the Reproductive Health Act in New York, which Cuomo wants the State Legislature to pass in their first 30 days. Under New York's current law, abortions after 24 weeks are illegal unless its necessary to save the woman's life. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 7: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks about reproductive rights at Barnard College, January 7, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

New York State recently passed the “Reproductive Health Act,” which ensures that abortion will remain legal in the state regardless of whether Roe v. Wade is overturned and includes provisions allowing for late-term abortion. Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam also recently advocated for the policy, drawing a direct mention in Trump’s State of the Union.

“If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother,” Northam said of the policy.

Trump likened the image to him “basically stated he would execute a baby after birth.”

Trump also said of the Democratic party Monday evening at an El Paso, Texas, campaign rally that the Democratic party is “becoming the party of socialism, late-term abortion, open borders, and crime.”