Campaign

DeSantis says left will ‘weaponize’ Trump’s abortion comments

by Tara Suter - 09/23/23 9:58 PM ET

Florida Governor and 2024 Republican Presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican Party of Iowa’s 2023 Lincoln Dinner at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 28, 2023. (Photo by SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images)

In a Saturday interview with conservative media personality Glenn Beck, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said those in left-wing politics will “weaponize” recent comments by former President Donald Trump on Florida’s 6-week abortion ban.

“There’s going to be potentially on the ballot in Florida, a referendum for a constitutional amendment to basically have abortion on demand, the left is pursuing it, and if that passes, that means the legislature can never do anything to protect life,” DeSantis said.

“Do you think they’re going to run ads to Republicans and Independents, showing Trump, Trump voters, saying ‘Trump didn’t like this, vote the other way, for us’? Of course they are. They’re gonna weaponize what he said, to try to defeat the cause of life,” he continued.

DeSantis signed the aforementioned law banning abortion in the Sunshine State after six weeks of pregnancy in April. The law has exceptions for people whose lives are at risk and those whose pregnancies are caused by rape, incest or human trafficking up to 15 weeks.

“We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” DeSantis wrote in a statement at the time. “I applaud the Legislature for passing the Heartbeat Protection Act that expands pro-life protections and provides additional resources for young mothers and families.”

Trump criticized the ban in a recent “Meet the Press” interview, calling it “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”

The former president later tried to clarify his statements after backlash from conservatives. He also took credit for overturning the constitutional right to abortion.

“I was able to do something that nobody thought was possible, end Roe v. Wade,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “For 52 years, people talked, spent vast amounts of money, but couldn’t get the job done. I got the job done! Thanks to the three great Supreme Court Justices I appointed, this issue has been returned to the States, where all Legal Scholars, on both sides, felt it should be.”