‘It’s Settled Law’: Donald Trump Says He Won’t Fight to Reverse Gay Marriage but Is Fine with Overturning Roe v. Wade
Donald Trump said he is “fine with” same-sex marriage in his first interview as president-elect.
Speaking to Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes Sunday night, Trump shared on his latest thoughts concerning marriage equality — and he doesn’t plan on fighting the Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex unions in all 50 states.
“It – it’s irrelevant because it was already settled,” he said when asked if he supported same-sex marriage. “It’s law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean it’s done.”
When pressed on if that would change even if Trump appointed a conservative judge to the Supreme Court, the 70-year-old businessman said, “It’s done. It – you have – these cases have gone to the Supreme Court. They’ve been settled. And – I’m – I’m fine with that.”
In the same interview, however, Trump said any new Supreme Court judges he would appoint will be “pro-life” and may overturn Roe v. Wade.
“If it ever were overturned, it would go back to the states,” he said, but added that it’s got “a long long way to go.”
When questioned by Stahl whether that meant “some women won’t be able to get an abortion,” the president-elect responded, “No, it’ll go back to the States. … they’ll perhaps have to go, they’ll have to go to another state. … Well, we’ll see what happens. It’s got a long way to go, just so you understand. That has a long, long way to go.”
Trump’s views on same-sex marriage have varied over the years. Although in 2011 he told The Des Moines Register, “I’m not in favor of gay marriage. They should not be able to marry,” in told PEOPLE in 2016 that he would have favored gay marriage laws to be determined by each state. However, he conceded, “The courts have ruled.”
Trump has also changes his views on abortion rights over the years. In 1999 he said on Meet the Press that he is “very pro-choice” although admitted he “hates the concept of abortion.” He also said in the same interview that if he was president he would not ban partial-birth abortions or abortions in the first or second trimester. However, he now describes himself as being pro-life.
