Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis didn't hesitate to criticize former President Donald Trump for not being pro-life when asked a question Thursday during an event at a town hall in Iowa.
DeSantis, 45, said the 77-year-old Republican presidential primary front-runner had “turned it upside down” on abortion and said he would seek to “override” state-level bans on abortion if he wins a second term. I accused him of doing so.
“For pro-life voters in Iowa, Donald Trump is very different from what he professed to believe when he first ran for president in 2016,” DeSantis told CNN hosts during the forum. I think I'm taking a stand,” he said.
“Do you think Donald Trump is not pro-life?” Collins then asked a White House official.
“Of course not,” he replied.
“So when you say pro-life protections are a terrible thing, by definition you are not pro-life,” he added.
“If you want to enact a federal law in 18 or 20 weeks that overrides states like Iowa that have enacted pro-life protections, that means more abortions, not fewer abortions.”
President Trump drew the ire of conservatives last year when he criticized Florida's six-week abortion ban as a “terrible thing” and a “terrible mistake.”
DeSantis also criticized President Trump, who attended the anti-abortion March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., in 2020 and called for the protection of unborn children, only to “turn the issue upside down.” did.
“I don't know if it's a matter of political expediency or something he always believed, but the point is, some of the issues are pretty fundamental. Like the sanctity of life. How do you turn things around?'' DeSantis said.
According to the Real Clear Politics poll average, Trump leads DeSantis by 32.7 points in Iowa, with the former president's approval rating at 51.3% and the Florida governor's approval rating at 18.6%. ing.
The Iowa caucuses will be held on January 15th.
