Trump Says His Abortion Strategy Is “States’ Rights”—But Even He Doesn’t Follow It
This week, a Floridian—the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump—weigh on how he might vote on the state’s abortion rights ballot initiative in November.
Florida’s near-total abortion ban went into effect in early May. The state, led by Gov. Ron DeSantisreplaced the 15-week ban with a six-week ban, eliminating access before many people know they are pregnant.
Now, the 2024 ballot measure hopes to protect abortion rights up to about 24 weeks, or later if a medical professional deems the procedure necessary to save a patient’s life.
The current ban, Trump said in a interview told NBC News on Thursday that it was “too short.” Asked how he planned to vote on the ballot initiative, he replied, “I would vote that we need more than six weeks.” “There needs to be more time,” he said.
The conservative backlash was swift.
“If Donald Trump loses, today is the day he loses,” conservative commentator Erick Erickson posted to X, formerly Twitter. “The dedicated pro-life community can turn a blind eye, in part, to the nation’s abortion problems. But Trump considering Florida as he did would be a bridge too far for too many.”
“Trump should quickly calculate the cost of a pro-life vote. That cost will be high,” Albert Mohlerpresident of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote on social media. “Christian pro-life voters will have to think clearly, honestly, and soberly about our challenge in this election—starting at the top.”
Lilac RoseThe head of the prominent anti-abortion group Live Action, shared that she “would love to see him stop saying this nonsense about supporting abortion” in a Political article was announced on Thursday. “But unfortunately, that is not the case.” “Perhaps,” she said, “he personally lacks principles on this issue.”
Just a day after his first interview with NBC, Trump said he actually wouldn’t vote for the Florida measure.
“So I think six weeks, you need more time than six weeks. I disagreed with that from the very first primaries when I heard about it, I disagreed with it,” Trump speak Fox News. “At the same time, the Democrats are very extreme, because nine months is just a ridiculous situation where you can have an abortion in the ninth month. … So I would vote no for that reason,” he continued, repeating a common myth about abortion.
In 2021, according to According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 93 percent of abortions occur in the first trimester. Only about 1 percent are performed at 21 weeks—about five months—or later in pregnancy. These abortions often occur due to lack of health insurance or health complications for the pregnant woman or fetus.
This daily message about how states should handle who gets an abortion and when is just the latest strategy in Trump tell of which way Heand his administration has be destroyed access to reproductive health care services nationwide. For three presidential campaignsTrump has changed his language on abortion to better suit his needs. During his most recent campaign, Trump emphasized that his stance was always anchored in states’ rights.
“People forget that, in the first place, the fight against Roe v. Wade was to bring this issue back to the United States,” Trump posted with Truth Social in April. “It’s not about anything else,” he continued, “We had a Great Victory, it’s back in America where it belongs, and where everyone wants it. America will make the decision.”
