NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump said Friday he will vote no on a Florida ballot measure that would repeal the state’s six-week abortion ban, a day after he seemed to indicate he would vote in favor of the measure.
Trump has said he believes the Florida ban is a mistake, saying in an interview with Fox News Channel on Friday, “I think six weeks, you need more time.” But then he said, “at the same time, the Democrats are radical,” and he repeated false claims he has often made about late-stage abortions, saying he opposed allowing abortions up to nine months.
“I will vote no for that reason,” said Trump, who is registered to vote at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
The Florida vote would legalize abortion until fetal viability, a term used by health care providers to describe whether a pregnancy is expected to continue developing normally or whether a fetus can survive outside the womb. It is generally considered to be around 23 or 24 weeks, which is about six months.
Trump drew a backlash from abortion opponents who supported him when he appeared to signal in another interview on Thursday that he would vote for the ballot measure and repeal the six-week ban when he said, “I’m going to vote that we need more than six weeks.”
Amid the backlash, his campaign quickly released a statement saying that Trump had not actually said how he would vote, but “simply reiterated that he believes six weeks is too short a time.”
Trump has taken several conflicting positions on abortion over the years. After briefly considered He supported a possible 15-week nationwide ban on the procedure, announced in april that the regulation of abortion should be left to the states.
In the months since, he has repeatedly taken credit for his role in overturning Roe, calling it “a beautiful sight” to see states impose their own restrictions.
“Donald Trump just made his position on abortion very clear: He will vote to uphold an abortion ban so extreme that it goes into effect before many women even know they are pregnant,” Vice President Trump said. Kamala Harrishis Democratic rival, in a statement responding to Trump’s comments on Friday.