NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will vote against a Florida ballot initiative that would repeal the state’s ban on abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy, a day after he seemed to indicate he would vote in favor.
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Trump has said that he considers Florida's ban to be a mistake, and said in an interview with Fox News Channel on Friday: "I think at six weeks you need more time." But then he said: "At the same time, the Democrats are radical," and repeated the false claims he has frequently made about late-term abortions and said he opposed allowing abortions up to nine months.
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"So I will vote against for that reason," said Trump, who is registered to vote at his residence in Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
Florida's electoral initiative would legalize abortion up to fetal viability, a term used by doctors to describe whether a pregnancy is expected to continue developing normally or if a fetus could survive outside the womb. It is generally considered to be around 23 or 24 weeks, which is about six months.
Trump generated criticism from abortion opponents who support him when he seemed to indicate in another interview on Thursday that he would vote in favor of the ballot initiative and repeal the six-week abortion ban when he said: "I am going to vote that we need more than six weeks."
In the midst of the commotion, his campaign team quickly issued a statement pointing out that Trump had not actually said how he would vote, but rather "simply reiterated that he believes six weeks is too short."
Trump has held multiple contradictory positions on abortion over the years. After briefly considering endorsing a possible national ban on the procedure after 15 weeks of gestation, he announced in April that the regulation of abortion should be left to the states.
In the following months, she has repeatedly been credited for her role in overturning the Roe v. Wade ruling and has pointed out that it has been "beautiful to see" how states establish their own restrictions.
“Donald Trump has just made his position on abortion very clear: he will vote in favor of maintaining a ban on abortion so extreme that it applies even before many women know they are pregnant,” said Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival, in a statement in response to Trump's comments on Friday.