Trump agrees Arizona abortion ruling went ‘too far’ after saying decision would be left to states
Former President Donald Trump criticized state supreme courts in Arizona and Florida Wednesday for going “too far” with recent abortion rulings — two days after he said decisions on regulating the procedure should be left up to the states.
“Yeah, they did,” the presumptive GOP nominee told reporters when asked if the Arizona Supreme Court had gone “too far” in ruling that an 1864 abortion ban containing no exceptions for rape or incest could take effect.
“And as you know, it’s all about state’s rights, that’ll be straightened out,” the 77-year-old added while in Atlanta for a fundraising event. “And I’m sure that the governor and everybody else are going to bring it back into reason, and that will be taken care of, I think, very quickly.”
Trump then remarked on the Florida Supreme Court allowing a 15-week ban on most abortions to take effect and clearing the way for a six-week abortion ban to become law in a matter of weeks.
“Florida’s probably, maybe, going to change also,” he added. “See, it’s all a question of — it’s the will of the people, this is what I’ve been saying, it’s a perfect system. So for 52 years, people have wanted to end Roe v. Wade to get it back to the states. We did that. It’s an incredible thing. An incredible achievement. We did that and now the states have it, and the states are putting out what they want. It’s the will of the people.
“So Florida’s probably going to change. Arizona’s going to definitely change, everybody wants that to happen. And you’re getting the will of the people. It’s been pretty amazing.”
The former president also shook his head and said “No” twice when a reporter asked if he would sign a national abortion ban into law.
Trump revealed his comprehensive stance on abortion Monday in a video posted on Truth Social.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everyone wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state,” Trump said at the time.
He did not specify for how many weeks of pregnancy he believes abortion should be legal.
“Many states will be different,” the former president added. “Many will have a different number of weeks, or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be. At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people.”
Trump’s campaign reiterated his stance Wednesday, one day after the Arizona ruling.
“President Trump could not have been more clear. These are decisions for people of each state to make,” national campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Trump’s “too far” comments come after he received major backlash from pro-life organizations and former Vice President Mike Pence over his Monday announcement.
“We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position. Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry. The Dobbs decision clearly allows both states and Congress to act,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement.
“Too many Republican politicians are all too ready to wash their hands of the battle for life. Republicans win on life when we speak the truth boldly and stand on the principle that we all know to be true — human life begins at conception and should be defended from womb to tomb. However much our Republican nominee or other candidates seek to marginalize the cause of life, I know pro-life Americans will never relent until we see the sanctity of life restored to the center of American law in every state in this country,” Pence wrote on X.
Trump hit back at Pence in a Truth Social post Wednesday: “Former Vice President (thank you President Trump!) Mike Pence has been doing a lot of talking about Abortion lately. He never felt I would be able to kill Roe v Wade and bring it back to the States where, according to all legal scholars, it belongs.”
Biden’s campaign issued a statement following Trump’s Wednesday remarks, hitting him for seemingly flip-flopping on the issue.
“Donald Trump owns the suffering and chaos happening right now, including in Arizona, because he proudly overturned Roe – something he called ‘an incredible thing’ and ‘pretty amazing’ just today,” spokesperson Michael Tyler said.
The Trump campaign fired back in an unsigned statement that began: “If it is a day that ends in ‘Y,’ DISHONEST Joe and his team are lying.”
“President Trump could not have been more clear. These decisions should be left to the states to ‘determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both,'” the statement read.
“DISHONEST Joe’s position is also clear. He supports aborting an unborn child up until the moment of birth and even after birth — he also wants to make American taxpayers pay for it.”
