A Republican congresswoman called the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade a "historic victory for white life" at a campaign rally Saturday night with former President Donald Trump.
"President Trump, on behalf of all the MAGA patriots in America, I want to thank you for the historic victory for white life in the Supreme Court yesterday," said Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., as she raised her hands to lead the crowd in Mendon, Ill., in applause.
Her campaign says Miller misspoke. "She very clearly meant to say 'victory for Right to Life' during her remarks," said Isaiah Wartman, a campaign spokesperson, in an email to NPR, characterizing the moment as a "mishap" and a "stumble."
"To suggest that she is somehow not committed to defending all life is disgusting," Wartman wrote.
Miller's rally with Trump on Saturday comes just days before she faces a primary election against the more moderate Rep. Rodney Davis, another Republican incumbent. Their districts in Illinois were recently redrawn by the Democrat-controlled state legislature, pitting the two against each other.
The winner of their primary is all but assured a victory in November – as 68% of the new district's voters picked Trump in 2020.
The campaign has been called a test of the power of Trump's endorsement. The vote will take place Tuesday.
Miller was elected in 2020. Shortly after she took office in January 2021, she apologized after quoting Hitler in a speech. "I sincerely apologize for any harm my words caused and regret using a reference to one of the most evil dictators in history to illustrate the dangers that outside influences can have on our youth," she wrote then.
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