DeSantis says he was ‘surprised’ when Trump criticized Florida’s 6-week abortion ban

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R ) said in an interview on Thursday that he was “surprised” when his 2024 rival former President Trump criticized the state’s six-week abortion ban as “too harsh” last month. 

“I was really surprised because he’s a Florida resident,” DeSantis told CBN News’ David Brody in an interview slated to air on the 700 Club on Friday. 

“I thought he would compliment the fact that we were able to do the heartbeat bill, which pro-lifers have wanted for a long time,” he continued. “He never complimented, never said anything about it then he was asked about it and he said it was ‘harsh.’” 

Last month, Trump said in an interview with The Messenger that he thought the six-week ban on abortion. with exceptions, which DeSantis signed into law in April was “too harsh.” 

“If you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people don’t even know if he knew what he was doing,” Trump told the outlet. “But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh.”

When asked by Brody on Thursday whether he thought Trump was being “too soft” on abortion, DeSantis said, “I think so.” 

“While I appreciate what the former president has done in a variety of realms, he opposes that bill,” he said. “He said it was ‘harsh’ to protect an unborn child when there’s a detectable heartbeat. I think that’s humane to do.”

“I think pro-lifers have been wanting to see good pro-life protections whether it’s Florida or Iowa under Kim Reynolds,” DeSantis added.

The Republican presidential primary field and GOP candidates down the ballot have been grappling with how to message on the issue. Democrats defeated Republicans in a number of key swing states in last year’s midterms on the issue of abortion access following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The former landmark Supreme Court decision legalized abortion at the federal level. 

Polling shows that Americans tend to support access to earlier term abortions as opposed to later-term abortions. 

A Gallup poll released on Wednesday found that 69 percent of Americans said that abortion should be legal throughout the first trimester of pregnancy. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said the procedure should be legal in the second trimester, while 22 percent said the same about the third trimester.