With the state’s six-week abortion ban at the forefront, Gov. DeSantis is appealing to evangelical voters with his argument against Trump.
Requested by David Brody from the Christian Telecom Organization if he thought Trump was “soft” on abortion, given his outlining of the Heartbeat Protection Act (SB 300) as “too harsh,” DeSantis took advantage of the opening in an interview airing Friday on the “700 Club.”
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“I think so. I mean, I was really surprised because he’s a Florida resident, and I thought he would compliment the fact, you know, that we were able to do the heartbeat bill, which pro-lifers have wanted for a long time. DeSantis recanted, “He never complimented, never said anything about it.”
“Then he was asked about it, and he said it was ‘harsh.’ But, you know, these are, these are children with detectable heartbeats. And I think to do that was very humane, and I think it was something that every pro-lifer appreciates that we were able to get that done.”
Additionally, DeSantis stated that despite his appreciation for “what the former president has done in a variety of realms, he opposes that bill.”
DeSantis stated that the bill had “good pro-life protections, whether it’s Florida or Iowa under Kim Reynolds” and that “he said it was ‘harsh’ to protect an unborn child when there’s a detectable heartbeat.”
Trump argued that DeSantis “has a big problem with women voters” and was “losing women voters like crazy” because the law was “too harsh.” DeSantis’ super PAC has purchased ads highlighting the former President’s ambiguity.
Interestingly, based on what he said in a previous interview, DeSantis appears to hold a states’ rights position on this topic.
DeSantis stated on “Fox News Tonight” on May 25 that “there’s a role for both the federal (government) and states” to play in the future following the Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
However, he implied that states should handle the issue primarily without laying out what that role might or might not be.
“I think at the end of the day, fighting for life and protecting life really is a bottom-up movement. I think we’ve been able to have great successes at the local level,” DeSantis told interviewer Trey Gowdy.
Now that the Governor is officially running for President, he is concerned that Democrats might federalize abortion protections.
DeSantis went on to say, “I am concerned about a Democratic administration with a trifecta trying to nationalize abortion all the way up until birth,”
The Governor appeared to be aware that some liberal strongholds would not impose severe restrictions on the procedure, which would result in establishing abortion destination jurisdictions.
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“I think that there’s just a practical reality that the country is divided on the issue. And so the question is, you know, how are you going to be able to save, you know, more lives?” DeSantis said.
“Some of this is related to strategy, and some of it is related to, you know, what could you do to be able to advance the ball forward?” Added he. You already know that in California, there will undoubtedly be extremely hostile viewpoints.
