DeSantis snaps back at Trump over Florida’s six-week abortion ban

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday took a swipe at Donald Trump over abortion, chiding the GOP presidential frontrunner for failing to take a stance on what type of abortion restrictions he would be willing to support.

DeSantis — in some of his strongest comments to date on the topic — also defended his decision to sign a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy even though it has been criticized by some Republicans as too strict. The comments set up a potential fault line for DeSantis when he officially jumps into the race for president, which could come as soon as next week.

Trump, in an interview he gave to digital news startup The Messenger published on Monday, 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 former president’s comments come after a CNN town hall meeting last week, where Trump took credit for appointing the conservative Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. But when pressed, Trump would not say if he would support a federal abortion law and what type of restrictions he would be willing to sign into law.

DeSantis retorted at a bill signing press conference in Broward County that “protecting an unborn child when there’s a detectable heartbeat is something that almost probably 99 percent of pro-lifers support. It’s something that others states like Iowa under Gov. Kim Reynolds have enacted.”

The governor then added that “I think that as a Florida resident, you know, he didn’t give an answer about ‘would you have signed the heartbeat bill that Florida did.’ It had all the exceptions that people talk about. The Legislature put it in. I signed the bill. I was proud to do it. He won’t answer whether he would sign it or not.”

DeSantis’ remarks come just days before he is scheduled to give the keynote address at the annual dinner of the Florida Family Policy Council, which bills itself as a “leading pro-life, pro-family” organization in the state.

Florida’s current law on abortion — which bans it after 15 weeks of pregnancy — was put in place shortly before the Supreme Court overturned Roe, the landmark decision that legalized abortion a half-century ago.

This spring, legislators rolled it back to six weeks, although the new measure does include exceptions for rape, incest and human trafficking if there is proof of the crime. The six-week ban, however, will not take effect until after the state Supreme Court rules on a legal challenge against the 15-week law.

DeSantis signed Florida’s new ban into law back on April 13 and announced it social media around midnight that same night. He initially didn’t tout it even when he spoke at an event the conservative Christian Liberty University, the preeminent conservative religious school in the country. But since then, DeSantis has included brief mentions of the ban in a list of legislative accomplishments he has been touting on recent appearances across the country.

Democrats have decried the new law, saying that it a tantamount to a complete ban since some people don’t know they are pregnant at the six weeks mark. Some Republicans have also questioned the restriction and have worried that such a ban could cost them in next year’s elections. Abortion rights advocates, meanwhile, have launched an initiative to ask voters in Florida to allow abortions up to about 24 weeks.

In his interview with The Messenger, Trump said he believed in exceptions from a strict ban, such as in cases of rape and incest, but would not say if he would sign a similar six-week ban into law at the federal law. Instead he said he was “looking” at options.

The answers that Trump gave on abortion have roiled some members of the conservative Christian community.

Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the Iowa-based Family Leader organization, tweeted out on Monday that the Iowa caucuses were “wide open” in the aftermath of Trump’s comments that the six-week ban may be too harsh. Vander Plaats recently traveled to Florida to meet with DeSantis and his wife, Casey DeSantis.

John Stemberger, who is president of the Florida Family Policy Council and a long-time anti-abortion advocate in the state, added on Twitter that “I can tell you that I personally know every major leader in the pro-life movement in the country and not a single one of them would agree with this statement.”