published Jun 27th 2016, 4:52 pm, by Kevin Cirilli

(Bloomberg) —
The Trump campaign reached out directly to Christian leaders in the aftermath the Supreme Court’s overturning of Texas abortion laws on Monday, while deciding against releasing official statements or social media postings.

Earlier Monday, the campaign engaged its recently-appointed Executive Evangelical Advisory Board about the ruling, reaffirming Trump’s commitment to appoint pro-life justices to the nation’s highest court, according to people familiar with the conversations.

Afterwards, the board released a statement obtained by Bloomberg Politics echoing the campaign’s message and referring to a meeting of more than 1,000 religious leaders in Manhattan last week.

“In an unprecedented meeting last week with American Christian leaders, Donald J. Trump promised to only appoint pro-life justices,” the board’s statement said. “We commend him and pray that the tragedy of today’s ruling will not be repeated in subsequent administrations.”

The campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Mark Burns, who frequently introduces Trump at his rallies and a member of the board, said that the ruling served as a reminder that the abortion issue remained of the utmost importance to conservative justices.

“This is exactly why many Christians across America are single issue voters this election,” Burns said. “Their sole focus is the types of Supreme Court justices that each candidate will appoint.”

Instead of commenting on the court’s decision, Trump spent much of Monday hitting familiar targets. On Twitter, he lashed out at a CNN, saying the network’s coverage was “all negative when it comes to me.” After facing a blistering attack by Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and Senator Elizabeth Warren, who campaigned together in Ohio, Trump blasted Warren as “racist.”

He also kept up his digs on Clinton, saying she had incorrectly predicted the outcome of the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union. “The media is unrelenting. They will only go with and report a story in a negative light. I called Brexit (Hillary was wrong), watch November,” Trump tweeted.

To contact the author of this story: Kevin Cirilli in Washington at kcirilli@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Mike Nizza at mnizza3@bloomberg.net David Knowles at dknowles9@bloomberg.net

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There are so many reasons why women get unintentionally pregnant. But there are alternatives to abortion, which is murder. Life is a wonderful choice.—W.
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