WASHINGTON D.C. – Pro-life voters are not overjoyed with former President Trump’s comments on abortion late last year, but some still plan to vote for him if he wins the Republican nomination.
At the 2024 March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., Fox News Digital spoke with voters who were torn over his recent comments.
Trump was vocally pro-life throughout his presidency, but he drew backlash after telling MSNBC in September that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ six-week ban on abortion was ‘a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.’
‘I mean, ‘DeSanctus’ [DeSantis] is willing to sign a five-week and six-week ban,’ the former president told the outlet. ‘I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.’
‘I would sit down with both sides, and I’d negotiate something, and we’ll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years,’ Trump added.
One voter at the March for Life told Fox News Digital that there should be no ‘compromise’ when it comes to abortion.
‘While Trump was an amazing president for the pro-life movement. We have seen, unfortunately, that he seems to want to compromise on the abortion issue, and we think that it is never okay to compromise on killing innocent children,’ a young voter told Fox News Digital. ‘And that’s what abortion is. And so if I could talk to President Trump right now, I’d maybe ask him what he’s thinking.’
Another individual said that Trump’s comments on his opponent’s six-week ban were ‘very heartbreaking’ and will ‘probably affect how I vote.’
‘It definitely makes me wonder what his actual opinions on abortion are, versus like if he’s just saying these for votes,’ one voter told Fox.
While some pro-lifers are concerned over the comments, other rally-goers believe Trump is pro-life, and they will continue to support his third bid for the presidency.
‘Overall, with other policies and things, I think I would still vote for Trump,’ one woman told Fox.
Another individual suggested that while some candidates may support earlier bans on abortion, six weeks might be difficult for a candidate to push on the national stage.
‘I think Trump is pro-life. I think we’ll stick with his vote,’ another pro-Trump voter told Fox. ‘But politically speaking, you know, six weeks is a hard push. You know, my ultimate goal is [a] total ban on abortion. That’s what I would like. But politically speaking, you got to take one step at a time. And I think it’s where Trump is coming from.’
One individual said that his actions on abortion while president speak louder than his recent comments.
‘It’s really the actions that matter most. And we can see from Trump’s presidency that his actions were pro-life, like, he got Amy Coney Barrett into the Supreme Court. And I think his actions speak louder than his words.’
The Trump campaign touted the former president’s pro-life record — particularly appointing Supreme Court justices who ultimately overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, returning abortion restrictions to states — in a statement to Fox News Digital.
‘President Trump’s unmatched pro-life record speaks for itself,’ said Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.
‘He appointed strong Constitutionalist federal judges and Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, which others have tried to do for over 50 years. He ended taxpayer-funded abortions, reinstated the Mexico City Policy that protects life abroad, and took many other actions to defend the unborn,’ Cheung said.
Cheung noted that pro-life advocacy group Susan B. Anthony List called Trump ‘the most consequential in American history for the pro-life cause.
‘Throughout these unprecedented successes, President Trump has always advised fellow Republicans that they must learn to talk about this critical issue the right way and remind voters that it is Democrats who are the extreme ones on abortion, not Republicans, despite the left’s attempt to paint it that way,’ Cheung added.
‘Joe Biden and virtually every Democrat in Congress is on the record supporting on-demand abortion up until the moment of birth, and after birth, as well as using American tax dollars to fund the killing of the most vulnerable. That’s why millions of pro-life Americans will vote to send President Trump back to the White House,’ he said.