Trump shames media coverage of March for Life, Pence to become first VP to attend
On Friday President Donald Trump called the media's reporting, or lack thereof, on the annual March for Life, an antiabortion rally, "not fair." Trump argued that the coverage of the pro-life event pales in comparison to what the Women's March received during inauguration weekend. Well, it seems Trump and his administration is going to do something about that.
Trump's White House is set to have quite the presence at Friday's March for Life rally in Washington D.C., with both the Vice President of the United States Mike Pence and Kellyanne Conway, Trump's senior counselor, delivering speeches at the pro-life rally.
March organizers say Pence's appearance is a historic one. While President Ronald Reagan and President George W. Bush both made videos for the event in the past, no president or vice president has spoken at the march in its 44 year history.
For antiabortion activists Pence is considered a champion on the front lines, signing what some consider the strictest laws on abortion in the country as governor of Indiana.
Organizers of the march expect the new pro-life administration to heighten enthusiasm around Friday's march, as tens of thousands of people are forecasted be in attendance.
According to organizers, recent marches have been estimated to draw between 400,000 and 650,000 people. However, NPR and the New York Times estimated the turnout to be closer to "tens of thousands."
The topic of crowd size came up again during President Trump's first televised interview. The president rebutted ABC News anchor David Muir after he asked if Trump was able to hear any chanting from the Women's Mach over the weekend at the White House.
"No, I couldn't hear them. The crowds were large, but you will have a large crowd on Friday, too, which is mostly pro-life people," Trump said taking aim at the media for allegedly ignoring the annual pro-life demonstration.
"You're going to have a lot of people coming on Friday," said Trump. "You will have a very large crowd of people. I don't know as large or larger. Some people said it will be larger. Pro-life people and they say the press doesn't cover them."
President Trump came under fire during the 2016 presidential campaign for saying women who have abortions should face "punishment." Trump was largely pro-choice for most of his life until 2011 when he said in a CPAC speech, "I am pro-life."
Kellyanne Conway is also set to speak at Friday's rally. In a recent interview with The Washington Post the senior counselor to President Trump opened up about her longtime support of the pro-life movement. And while she understands "why women are pro-choice," Conway fears that the country is "becoming too inured and inoculated against how precious life really is."
"But I'm also a very nonjudgmental person. I understand why women are pro-choice. I understand why women get abortions," said Conway.
The March for Life starts at 11:45 a.m. on Friday at the Washington Monument.
