Ron DeSantis urges reporters to ask Donald Trump where he stands on Florida abortion rights initiative

Gov. Ron DeSantis tweaked the man who knocked him out of the presidential race regarding reproductive rights, a familiar talking point during the 2024 GOP Primary campaign.

Asked about whether he wanted to see former President Donald Trump “get involved” in the fight to stop a constitutional amendment that would roll back Florida abortion law from a looming ban on the procedure after the sixth week of gestation via 2023’s Heartbeat Protection Act, DeSantis was terse about his one-time rival’s potential impact on the Amendment 4 fight.

“You should ask him about that,” DeSantis told a reporter Wednesday at the Hialeah Gardens Museum.

Trump has distanced himself as much as possible from the abortion issue now that he’s in General Election mode.

“President Trump supports preserving life but has also made clear that he supports states’ rights because he supports the voters’ right to make decisions for themselves,” went a spokesman’s statement reported by the Bulwark’s Marc Caputo.

Caputo cited an adviser saying there was “no point in weighing in now,” a statement which creates further mystery regarding his position on Amendment 4.

Yet clarity into Trump’s position regarding the Florida six-week ban exists, if one assumes the controversies of the early part of the presidential race offer insight into his position.

“I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake,” Trump said in September 2023, regarding DeSantis signing the law that bans abortion early in gestation in most cases, except for exceptions for rape, incest, and maternal health. 

DeSantis issued a number of denunciations of the former President while he was an active candidate for President.

“I think that if you have something where you have a baby that has a detectable heartbeat, if you’re pro-life, you would want to say that there should be protections there,” he said on ABC News last fall. “And if he’s saying, ‘That’s a terrible thing,’ I know most pro-life voters would think that he’s wrong.”

“Donald Trump may think it’s terrible. I think protecting babies with heartbeats is noble and just and I’m proud to have signed the heartbeat bill in Florida and I know Iowa has similar legislation,” DeSantis said on Radio Iowa around the same time. “I don’t know how you can even make the claim that you’re somehow pro-life if you’re criticizing states for enacting protections for babies that have heartbeats.”

DeSantis described Trump’s position as a “danger that we all have to look at” with respect to the anti-abortion cause, adding that “all pro-lifers should know that he’s preparing to sell you out.”

“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. He never complimented, never said anything about it,” DeSantis recounted on the 700 Club. 

“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.”