Last month, Florida lawmakers passed a six-week ban on abortion that former President Donald Trump said even people in the pro-life movement think is “too harsh.”
Trump made the comment in an interview, published Monday by The Messenger, when asked about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the six-week ban into law.
“He has to do what he has to do,” said Trump. “If you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people don't even know if he knew what he was doing. But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh.”
According to a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll from last month, 59% of Americans oppose the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade abortion protections with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health opinion. Most Republicans (86%) favor restricting abortion to, at most, the first three months of pregnancy, per the poll. A quarter of Americans said abortion should only be allowed in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the pregnant person, just 8% percent believe abortion should be allowed only to save the life of a pregnant person, and 9% believe it should never be allowed.
The Messenger said Trump would not say if he believed a six-week ban went too far. During a CNN town hall event held in New Hampshire last week, Trump said that he was proud of the Dobbs decision.
“It was such a great victory, and people are starting to understand it now,” Trump said, adding that it “gave pro-life something to negotiate with.” He also said that he believes in exceptions, such as the life of the mother, rape and incest, “like Ronald Reagan.”
Apart from the abortion ban, Trump does not appear to have a favorable view of DeSantis – who the former president previously supported in his 2018 run for governor.
“He’s got no personality. And I don’t think he’s got a lot of political skill,” Trump said.
DeSantis is expected to run against Trump to be the 2024 Republican presidential candidate. NBC News reported Monday that since his team has moved out of the Republican Party of Florida headquarters, DeSantis will need to announce his candidacy within the next two weeks.
Although DeSantis is the second most popular of the pool of potential Republican candidates, Trump remains in a strong lead, according to Morning Consult survey results updated Tuesday. Per those results, Trump had 61% of GOP voters behind him, compared to 18% for DeSantis.
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