Trump must own the decision, exalting in it during the Republican primaries should he run, defending it in the general election should he win — and exercise leadership to moderate any GOP excesses post-Dobbs. Trump’s political instincts are sometimes sharper than other Republicans because he does not think like a conventional conservative.

But Trump governed enough like one to run on that record. He cannot run from it. He didn’t just nominate the justices on the lists conservatives compiled for him. He stood by Justice Neil Gorsuch when Democrats brayed that the seat really belonged to Merrick Garland; by Justice Brett Kavanaugh when Senate Democrats called him a rapist; and by Justice Amy Coney Barret when weeks before the election she was designated to succeed Ginsburg. These were the ultimate “he fights for you” moments. And there’s not a David Souter or even John Roberts in the bunch, occasional grumbling about Gorsuch aside.

Trump’s problems with suburban women owe at least as much to his personality as any substantive issue. He cannot forfeit the confidence conservatives now have in him if he plans to compete with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence.