Donald Trump says he will vote “no” on Florida’s abortion-rights referendum, after angering pro-lifers by suggesting that he would support the bill earlier this week.
Florida Amendment 4 would enshrine a constitutional right to abortion in the state. When asked on Thursday if he would vote for the ballot measure, Trump said that “I think the six-week [abortion ban] is too short. There has to be more time, and I’ve told them that I want more weeks,” leaving pro-life Republicans to assume that the president would vote for the referendum. Trump’s campaign later defensively said that he “has not yet said how he will vote on the ballot initiative” — until Friday afternoon, when Trump clarified his statements to Fox.
“I think 6 weeks, you need more time than 6 weeks, I’ve disagreed with that, right from the early primaries, when I heard about it, I disagreed with it. At the same time, the Democrats are radical because the 9 months is just a ridiculous situation,” Trump said. “You can do an abortion in the 9th month. Some of the states like Minnesota and other states have it where you can actually execute the baby after birth, and all of that stuff is unacceptable, so I’ll be voting ‘no’ for that reason.”
The bill states that “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” Trump and running mate J.D. Vance have distanced themselves from pro-life policy on abortion and in-vitro fertilization in recent weeks, but Trump’s comments about the Florida referendum earned him the greatest pushback from pro-life Republicans, who encouraged the president not to support the bill.
“The Left’s all-trimester abortion amendment poses a major threat to unborn children, women and girls. We must all fight diligently from now until election day,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said. “The only way Amendment 4 passes is if voters are unaware of its impacts. We thank President Trump for shedding light on how extreme this measure is and call on all Republican leaders in Florida to follow the president’s example.”
Live Action founder and pro-life activist Lila Rose, whose comments criticizing Trump’s progressive tilt on abortion messaging went viral this week, thanked Trump on X.
“Please help the great people of Florida defeat this horrific amendment!” she said. “If Trump starts talking like former President Trump who at the March for Life said ‘Together, we must protect, cherish, and defend the dignity and sanctity of every human life,’ he may just win this election.”
Florida governor Ron DeSantis was optimistic on Friday that the bill would fail, though if it passes, progressive abortion supporters may try to authorize taxpayer-funded abortion in Florida, National Review‘s Audrey Fahlberg reported.