"Throughout Monday afternoon, Trump raged at Graham in post after post on the social media platform after Graham said he 'respectfully' disagreed with Trump’s conclusions about abortion policy."

"Graham, in posts shared on X, argued that the court’s ruling on Roe 'does not require that conclusion legally.' 'The states’ rights only rationale today runs contrary to an American consensus that would limit late-term abortions and will age about as well as the Dred Scott decision,' Graham said. 'The science is clear — a child at fifteen weeks is well-developed and is capable of feeling pain.' Graham has been a staunch proponent of federal limits on abortions. Most recently, he has pushed for a ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy....  'The Democrats are thrilled with Lindsey, because they want this issue to simmer for as long a period of time as possible,' Trump said. In another post, Trump argued that by allowing states to make their own abortion laws, 'we have taken the Abortion Issue largely out of play.' 'We cannot let our Country suffer any further damage by losing Elections on an issue that should always have been decided by the States, and now will be,' Trump said...."

From "Trump rages against [Lindsey] Graham on abortion in rare break between allies/The posts from the former president came after the senator said he ‘respectfully’ disagreed with Trump’s stance on abortion Monday" (WaPo).

Graham's support for a federal statute limiting abortion undercuts an argument that abortion opponents will want to make if Congress ever creates a right to abortion in the form of a federal statute. But if protecting the life of the unborn is your highest priority, that's where you go as a matter of principle. The idea of leaving it to the states seems like a pragmatic compromise.

And here we see Trump defending leaving it to the states as a matter of pragmatic compromise. It's good politics for Republicans, as Trump talks about it. One could also defend constitutional principles of federalism and urge people to see that there is good reason to enforce limits to congressional powers. Graham spoke of "states' rights" — which makes it sound retrograde — but one can defend federalism in modern-day terms.

To some extent, Trump is speaking of the benefits of letting the people of different states make law reflecting the local preferences rather than seeking one uniform rule for all of us. But Trump also openly reveals that it's not about the value of decentralized decision-making. It's about his party winning elections. That's no big secret. Why not say it?

Well, we know why. It disturbs those who are absolutely pro-life. And yet, Graham's proposed federal law — a ban after 15 weeks — is not absolute. Arguably, it cedes the high ground, a strict idea of limited, enumerated federal powers. Interestingly, we don't see Trump posturing on that high ground. I guess that's too abstract in a time when people are thinking about the concrete matters: murdering babies and winning elections.