Republican 2024 presidential hopeful Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said Thursday on a CNN Town Hall that his rival for the nomination, former President Donald Trump, was not pro-life.
DeSantis said, “Clearly states have the primary role in this because that’s what it was all of American history until 1973. So, you have states like Iowa that have enacted a heartbeat bill. Florida has enacted a heartbeat bill. Other states have done other things. So that’s just, I think, where the country is right now. So, we’ll be somebody that will defend particularly the rights of states. You have a difference of opinion in this primary because Donald Trump has said that pro-life protections, even at the state level, are a, ‘terrible thing.’ And he said that in relation to bills like what Iowa did, the Heartbeat Bill. This is a guy that was at the March for Life in January of 2020, and he said that all life was a gift from God. He said that unborn was made in the image of God. He said that there should be protections. That’s what he was saying when he was president at the March for Life. Now he’s saying it’s a terrible, terrible thing.”
He added, “So, how do you reconcile those two views? Did he flip flop? Did he not believe it at the time? But then to go even further, he actually has said, elevate this issue to the federal government. What he wants to do is find a time, I think he floated, like, 18 or 20 weeks, have that be the limit. But then override any protections that states have done that are more than that. Well, that is not going to be advancing the cause of life. So, I think, for pro-life voters in Iowa, Donald Trump is taking positions that are way different than what he professed to believe when he first ran for president in 2016.”
Host Kaitlan Collins said, “Do you think Donald Trump is not pro-life?”
DeSantis said, “Of course not. I mean, when you’re saying that pro-life protections are a terrible thing, by definition you are not pro-life. When you say that you want to have a federal law at 18 weeks or 20 weeks that would override a state like Iowa that has enacted pro-life protections, that would mean more abortions, not less abortions. Because very few abortions are happening that late anyway. So, he has flip-flopped on this issue. I don’t know if it’s because of political convenience or this is where he always believed in. But here’s the thing, some issues are pretty fundamental. How do you flip-flop on something like the sanctity of life?”
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