ArcaMax

He still didn't say no.

"You know, things really do have a lot to do with the states, and some states are going to have different policy than others," Trump responded.

Later on Tuesday, as the backlash to his interview intensified, he posted on social media that he would "NEVER ADVOCATE IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTH CONTROL" but left open the possibility that states might do so, an echo of his position on abortion access, where he has advocated leaving everything up to the states and attacked reports based on his interview as "a Democrat fabricated lie."

What exactly was the Democrat-fabricated lie?

Asked a question to which the answer should have been a simple no, he dodged and ducked and termed it "interesting." There was no trick and no lie. He still did not say whether he supported the 1965 decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, which took away from the states the power to restrict access to birth control.

Is that so hard?

It's a real issue. Griswold, another holy grail in Supreme Court precedent, was part of the foundation for Roe. Is it also in jeopardy?

The administration did pounce, as it rightly should have.

"It's not enough for Trump that women's lives are being put at risk, doctors are being threatened with jail time, and extreme bans are being enacted with no exceptions for rape or incest," the Biden campaign said in a statement. "He wants to rip away our freedom to access birth control too."

The Trump campaign has refused to further clarify his position.

So goes another week in Trumpland. Sloppy is perhaps too kind; dangerous is more like it. The question is why people put up with such bad habits from a man who so desperately needs to know better than this. Every word a president says matters. Not this one. Dangerous is what he is.

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To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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