MSNBC host Chris Matthews on Thursday said Democratic support for late-term abortion could be a damaging issue for the party during the 2020 election.
Matthews began the segment by talking about President Donald Trump's 2016 victory in Pennsylvania, saying he has several relatives and friends up there on both sides of the political aisle and that he was surprised Trump beat Hillary Clinton.
"First of all, the issue of life, the anti-abortion rights people, they will have a campaign in reality that goes on no matter what else happens in politics, they're going to go against somebody who is too pro-choice, in other words for late-term abortion," Matthews said. "That could be a real problem for Democrats, this whole talk of late-term abortion now."
"I can think the immigration issue is huge in Pennsylvania, illegal immigration, so I think they're going to hit the Democrats on open borders, a late-term abortion, and socialism," Matthews continued.
Matthews went on to predict former Vice President Joe Biden, who announced he's running for president on Thursday, won't be "vulnerable" to attacks from Republicans on these issues.
Several 2020 Democratic candidates have already chimed in on third-trimester abortions, including Rep. Tim Ryan (Ohio), former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (Texas), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), who caucuses with Senate Democrats.
Ryan and Sanders both dismissed third-trimester abortions as a "non-issue."