Fox's Jessica Tarlov hit Trump for his cowardly statement this Monday saying he wants to leave the issue of abortion to the states during a discussion on America's Newsroom.

Host Dana Perino asked their other guest, the National Review's Rich Lowry, what he thought about the statement, and Lowry had to admit Republicans aren't in a great spot with most of the electorate right now.

LOWRY: Well, the politics has a lot to do with the merits, where he came out on the substance of this, right? He signaled for a long time, he doesn't think this is a winning issue for Republicans. He'd prefer not to fight on it. So this is just another sign, Dana, of how on the defensive Republicans are.

He doesn't want to even take a position on whether there should be a federal ban or what the, where you draw the line on that, wants to punt it to the states so he can just say, well, you know, that's for Alabama or for California to decide.

And he's figuring, you know, and this is obviously not a crazy calculation, that pro-lifers don't have anywhere else to go. What are they going to do? Fall into the arms of Joe Biden, who's totally opposed to them on every single aspect of this issue.

But again, it's a sign of Republicans are on the defensive on this, there's no doubt about it. Okay.

Bill Hemmer brought up the fact that abortion is going to be on the ballot in a number of swing states and what she thought about Trump's statement from earlier that day. Tarlov did a good job of explaining exactly what this means for women in the states where Trump believes it's perfectly acceptable to have their lives put at risk due to a problem pregnancy.

TARLOV: I read his statement as he wants to have it both ways. He wants to be responsible for getting rid of Roe v. Wade and then he also wants to be able to say it isn't me, right? These are these are your local legislatures. These are your governments, your your state supreme school courts that are doing it, and please don't blame me and continue to vote for me.

That's all he's concerned with and he's in a really tough position I think that Rich is correct there. We have seen these ballot measures in seven or eight states already, where it's been overwhelmingly for the pro-choice side of this. People who might even not be okay with having no restrictions up to 20 weeks 24 weeks for instance are, being forced into that position because of how restrictive these states are.

But when Donald Trump says it's up to the states he is allowing 14 states that ban it in all cases, including no exceptions for rape or incest. That's allegedly something that he opposes, but he's letting it happen, and there are 24 states that can't even get a ballot initiative out there.

So he's leaving people in dire straits, people like Kate Cox in Texas, who already had two children and then a nonviable pregnancy, and a 10-year-old in Ohio who had to go to Indiana to be able to get care.

Perino wrapped things up by saying "There's gonna be a lot on this, and so he made the statement, and we'll see where it goes."

They know where it's going, and it's not going to be good for Republicans, and Trump's weasel words didn't help them one bit today.