March 30, 2016 03:17 PM UTC

YUGE NEWS: Donald Trump Really Does it This Time

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Washington Post (and pretty much every other news outlet in the country) is reporting today:

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is under scrutiny for comments he made Wednesday related to abortion rights, in which he stated that women would have to undergo “some form of punishment” for seeking abortions if they were made illegal.

The remarks came while Trump was being asked by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews during a pre-taped town hall about the practical implications of banning abortion nationwide. Matthews specifically pressed Trump on the criminal consequences women would face for seeking abortions if Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationally, were overturned.

“This is not something you can dodge. If you say abortion is a crime or abortion is murder, you have to deal with it under the law. Should abortion be punished?” Matthews said.

“The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment,” Trump said as Matthews pushed him for specifics. “There has to be some form.” [Pols emphasis]

The real estate mogul repeatedly stated during the interview that he is pro-life, but he did not weigh in on the specific punishments women would face if abortions were illegal.

D’Oh! This isn’t going to end well. As our friends at “The Fix” explain, Republicans are spending a lot of time with their face in their hands lately:

…What Trump’s comments will do — and already are doing — is allow Democrats to a) insist that what Trump said is what all Republicans seeking to outlaw abortion really mean and b) tie every single GOP candidate running for any office in the country to this idea Trump has forwarded.

Hillary Clinton’s reaction — via Twitter — was indicative of the broader sentiment within the Democratic party following Trump’s comments.  (Worth noting: Trump’s campaign released a statement after the comment went public insisting that “this issue is unclear and should be put back into the states for determination.”)

And even conservative groups opposed to abortion did everything they could to get away from Trump’s comments as fast as they could.