More than two weeks have passed since Donald Trump told an interviewer that he would reveal whether he supports banning the use and distribution of drugs used in medication abortions “over the next week or two.” But the major cable and broadcast newscasts and most influential newspapers seem to have moved on, according to a Media Matters review of their coverage. 

This lack of media interest allows the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to stay silent and avoid angering either the general public, which supports medication abortion, or his anti-abortion supporters, who desperately want it ended.

While Trump regularly takes credit on the campaign trail for ending Roe v. Wade’s protections for abortion rights through his Supreme Court appointments, he has largely avoided commenting on how far he’ll go to limit those rights if he returns to the White House.  

Trump’s allies want him to go very far indeed. Project 2025, the far-right agenda that the Heritage Foundation assembled with input from anti-abortion groups, calls for curtailing medication abortion — which accounts for more than 60% of abortions in the U.S. — by reversing federal approval of the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol and enforcing the 1873 Comstock Act’s ban on the mailing of such medications. Right-wing activists are also seeking to limit access to the drugs in the courts and in state legislatures. 

Trump himself had avoided commenting on these policies, which are wildly unpopular — a recent poll found more than 7 in 10 Americans say they support women obtaining medication abortion from their doctor or a clinic. The former president’s views have remained elusive in part because he typically stays within the bubble of his right-wing sycophants, who are more concerned with propping up his campaign so he can get elected and curtail abortion rights than forcing him to take a public position that might lead to his defeat. His campaign, meanwhile, maintained strategic silence, refusing to answer questions on the subject from journalists.

In a rare opportunity by a mainstream reporter to get Trump on the record, Time magazine national politics reporter Eric Cortellessa used a pair of interviews last month to try to get Trump to reveal whether his administration would seek to cut off the drugs used for the majority of American abortions.

But Trump, who is infamous for responding to questions about major policy initiatives by promising to provide details in “two weeks,” punted both times. When Cortellessa pressed him for his views on mifepristone and the Comstock Act during an April 12 sit-down, Trump told him a “big statement” on the subject was coming “over the next 14 days.” Then, when Cortellessa followed up in an April 27 phone interview, noting that the promised announcement had not materialized, the former president said one would be forthcoming “over the next week or two.” 

Another two weeks have come and gone since then without Trump divulging his position on whether his administration would effectively ban medication abortion. But he’s suffered no backlash for his silence from major news outlets as of this morning, according to our review.

Trump’s promised position on medication abortion has not been mentioned on the morning, evening, or Sunday political talk shows on ABC, CBS, or NBC since the April 30 publication of his interview with Time.

Cable news coverage has been little better. Fox, the dedicated Trump propaganda apparatus, has not mentioned the medication abortion position at all. CNN has mentioned it just twice, while MSNBC provided 7 minutes of coverage over 7 broadcasts.

We also found little coverage when we reviewed the print editions of five major newspapers. The New York Times mentioned Trump’s claim that he would imminently reveal his position in a single news article and a single opinion column. That still put it head-and-shoulders above its competitors — the Los Angeles Times mentioned Trump’s strategic silence in only a single opinion column, while The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and USA Today have not reported on it at all. 

Notably, the little coverage that did occur came almost exclusively in the immediate wake of Trump’s comments. CNN was the only one of the outlets we reviewed that mentioned his promise over the last week, the period including the expiration of his self-imposed deadline.

“In his interview with Time magazine, he said he would release how his administration would regulate access to medication abortion in the coming weeks,” anchor Jake Tapper said. “I’m not holding my breath.”

Meanwhile, Fox and the right-wing media are laser-focused on trying to destroy President Joe Biden and return Trump to the White House by any means necessary.

Methodology

Media Matters searched transcripts in the SnapStream video database for all original programming on CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC as well as all original episodes of ABC’s Good Morning America, World News Tonight, and This Week; CBS’ Mornings, Evening News, and Face the Nation; and NBC’s Today, Nightly News, and Meet the Press for either of the terms “Trump” or “former President” within close proximity to any of the terms “comstock,” “mifepristone,” “misoprostol,” or “abortion” within close proximity to any of the terms “pill,” “chemical,” or “drug” or any variation of the terms “medical” or “prescription” from April 30, 2024, when Time magazine published its interview with Trump where he promised to provide a statement on whether a future Trump administration would enforce the Comstock Act," through May 14, 2024.

Media Matters also searched print articles in the Factiva database from the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post for either of the terms “Trump” or “former President” within close proximity to any of the terms “comstock,” “mifepristone,” “misoprostol,” or “abortion” within close proximity to any of the terms “pill,” “chemical,” or “drug” or any variation of the terms “medical” or “prescription” in the body of the article from April 30, 2024 through May 14, 2024.

We timed segments, which we defined as instances when Trump's promise to provide a position on enforcement of the Comstock Act was the stated topic of discussion or when we found significant discussion of Trump's promise. We defined significant discussion as instances when two or more speakers in a multitopic segment discussed Trump's promise with one another.

We also timed mentions, which we defined as instances when a single speaker in a segment on another topic mentioned Trump's promise without another speaker engaging with the comment, and teasers, which we defined as instances when the anchor or host promoted a segment about Trump's promise scheduled to air later in the broadcast.

We rounded all times to the nearest minute.

We also included articles, which we defined as instances when Trump's promise to provide a position on enforcement of the Comstock Act was mentioned anywhere in the text in any section of the paper.