Donald Trump isn’t backing a national abortion ban. That’s not hurting him in the GOP primary

By WILL WEISSERT and THOMAS BEAUMONT
Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Donald Trump is dominating the early stages of the Republican presidential primary even as he’s refused to endorse a federal ban on abortion. That’s allowed some top rivals to get to the right of him on one of the issues that most animates conservative activists. Rather than stake out the hardest line, the former president has even warned other Republicans against locking themselves into positions that are unpopular with a majority of the public. Top Republicans were long able to simply declare themselves opposed to the procedure. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and abolished a federally guaranteed right to abortion, they must now contend with more complicated questions.