Donald Trump Says Catholics 'Very Angry' at Joe Biden Over Pro–Abortion Act

Former President Donald Trump has said that Roman Catholics are "very angry" with President Joe Biden amid the administration's stated support for a pro-abortion bill.

Trump gave an interview to the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) on Friday and strongly criticized Biden after the White House expressed support for the Women's Health Protection Act which was recently passed by Democrats in the House of Representatives.

The White House said the administration "strongly supports" the act but it is unlikely to make it to the president's desk as it looks set to fail in the evenly divided Senate.

Trump spoke to CBN Chief Political Analyst David Brody about Biden's effect on religious voters.

"If you look at his policies, and if you look at what he's doing to religion, and organized religion, if you look at what's going on, I don't know how the Catholic Church can be supportive of him," Trump said.

"Now I got, I guess, 50 or 52 percent of the Catholic vote and I was very disappointed by that," he said.

"I said, there's no way. Evangelicals great, but they got it, they really got it. But the Catholics are very angry, very angry at him."

It is difficult to be entirely sure on the question of Catholic voters in November's election. According to exit polls conducted by Edison Research following the 2020 presidential election, an estimated 52 percent of Catholics voted for Biden and 46 percent for Trump. This represents a six-point swing to the Democratic candidate over 2016.

However, AP VoteCast estimated that Biden won 50 percent of Catholic votes compared to Trump's 47 percent. Biden is a Catholic and regularly attends mass at his local parish at St. Joseph's on the Brandywine in the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware.

Biden and the Democrats' position on abortion has created tensions with the Catholic Church. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is also a Catholic who is open about her faith but has strongly defended the new pro-abortion bill in the face of criticism from the archbishop of San Francisco.

The Biden administration issued a statement in support of the bill on September 20, saying: "The Administration strongly supports House passage of H.R. 3755, the Women's Health Protection Act of 2021" and cited the controversial Texas abortion ban.

"In the wake of Texas' unprecedented attack, it has never been more important to codify this constitutional right and to strengthen health care access for all women, regardless of where they live. The Administration looks forward to working with Congress as the Women's Health Protection Act advances through the legislative process to ensure that this bill codifies and is consistent with the protections established by Roe and subsequent Supreme Court precedent," the White House said.

"The constitutional rights of women are essential to the health, safety, and progress of our nation. Our daughters and granddaughters deserve the same rights that their mothers and grandmothers fought for and won—and that a clear majority of the American people support. We will not allow this country to go backwards on women's equality," the statement concluded.

Joe Biden Speaks at the National Cathedral
President Joe Biden speaks at the funeral ceremony of the late Senator John Warner at Washington National Cathedral on June 23, 2021 in Washington, DC. Former President Donald Trump has said Catholics are "angry"... Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go