The former president and current GOP nominee told NBC News that he believes the six-week abortion ban in his home state of Florida was "too short," and Republicans in the swing state just north of there grumbled about his comments, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“This is completely and utterly grotesque and indefensible,” said Cole Muzio, head of the Georgia anti-abortion group Frontline Policy Council.
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Trump didn't specify how he would vote on a ballot measure in the state that would guarantee a right to abortion until fetal viability, which is around 24 weeks of pregnancy, but he did say there "has to be more time" for women to decide.
“If Donald Trump loses, today is the day he lost,” said Georgia conservative pundit Eric Erickson. "The committed pro-life community could turn a blind eye, in part, to national abortion issues. But for Trump to weigh in on Florida as he did will be a bridge too far for too many."
Trump also pledged that his administration would not only protect access to in-vitro fertilization but pay for the expensive reproductive procedure through the government or insurance companies.
"We are going to be, under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment," Trump said. "We're going to be mandating that the insurance company pay."
Anti-abortion advocates have been grumbling that Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance appear to be waffling on a national ban as he faces Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
"The recent statements that they have been making — increasingly pro-abortion statements — and the positions that they are choosing to take are making it untenable for pro-life voters to get out the vote for them. This is, unfortunately, the path that they’ve chosen," said Lila Rose, the longtime head of prominent anti-abortion group Live Action. "I would not vote for Harris. If the election were today, I would not vote for Harris or Trump based on their policies and their statements and their positions."
