President-elect Donald Trump appeared on “60 Minutes” this Sunday to discuss his plans for the presidency, and to clarify several of the stances he'd talked about on the campaign trail—including reproductive rights and gay marriage.
Leading up to the election, Trump promised to nominate Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that made abortion legal in the U.S. in 1973. The president-elect made it clear that he is pro-life and wishes to appoint pro-life justices. (Trump didn't always feel this way. He described himself as "very pro-choice" in a 1999 NBC interview.)
During the “60 Minutes” interview with Lesley Stahl, Trump said abortion rights should be left up to the states. When Stahl asked whether it would be okay for women to have to travel to another state to receive an abortion, Trump said, “We’ll see what happens. It’s got a long way to go, just so you understand.”
Since Justice Antonin Scalia’s death last February, there has been one vacant seat in the Supreme Court that Trump will have to fill as one of his first decisions in office. Republicans in Congress repeatedly blocked attempts to confirm Merrick Garland, Obama's pick to fill the vacancy.
But while Trump might think Roe v. Wade should be overturned, he seems to believe other SCOTUS decisions are set in stone. Stahl raised concerns during the interview that many in the LGBTQ community have expressed about Trump’s position on gay marriage. Trump's VP, Mike Pence, is known to be a vocal opponent of LGBTQ rights. While Trump did not say whether he supported marriage equality, he did say, “(I)t was already settled. It’s law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean, it’s done.” Maybe this is slightly good news?
On immigration, Trump walked back a bit on his famous wall claim, saying parts of it might be "some fencing." He also said he will probably deport 2 million or 3 million immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally and have criminal records. Vox reports that while we don't know exactly how many undocumented immigrant "criminals" are currently in the U.S., the "number of immigrants with criminal records who’ve recently been released from custody amounts to fewer than 200,000."
Trump also commented during the interview on the racial slurs and threats that have been committed by some of his supporters, according to CBS. “I am very surprised to hear that,” he said. “I am so saddened to hear that. And I say ‘Stop it,’ if it helps. I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras—stop it!”
