The issue of abortion is heating up as candidates jockey for the Republican presidential nomination. Former President Donald Trump has denounced Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent signing of a law that bans most abortions after a baby’s heartbeat is detected, which often is around six weeks into a pregnancy, claiming that many believe it was “too harsh.”
“He has to do what he has to do,” Trump said. “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.”
The Trump campaign has faced criticism from pro-life leaders for suggesting that abortion policy should be decided solely at the state level following the Dobbs decision. President Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America denounced the implication that bans on elective abortion should only be at the state level.
“Life is a matter of human rights, not states’ rights,” she said. “Saying that the issue should only be decided at the states is an endorsement of abortion up until the moment of birth, even brutal late-term abortions in states like California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey. The only way to save these children is through federal protections, such as a 15-week federal minimum standard when the unborn child can feel excruciating pain.”
Weighing in on his potential rival, Trump said DeSantis would be “very disloyal” if he ran in 2024, because the former president had endorsed DeSantis in the Republican primary when he was running for governor in 2018.
“He was dead, dead as a doornail. And I revived him,” Trump said. “I’m a loyal person. If that happened to me, I would never run against the guy that did that. He’s got plenty of years left. And I think if he runs, he’s gonna lose MAGA votes forever. That’s my opinion. And the MAGA votes are almost everything in the Republican Party, far bigger than you think.”
Although DeSantis has not officially announced his campaign, the RealClearPolitics average of polls sampling voter preferences in the Republican presidential primary shows DeSantis as the second most popular candidate or potential candidate seeking the Republican nomination. An average of polls taken from April 21 to May 5 shows Trump with 55 percent support and DeSantis securing 21 percent, with all other declared and potential candidates listed failing to make it out of the single digits.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
