DeSantis accuses Trump of not being pro-life, claims ex-prez ‘flip-flopped’ on issue: ‘Of course not’
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis didn’t hesitate to accuse former President Donald Trump of not being pro-life Thursday when asked during an Iowa town hall event.
DeSantis, 45, charged that the 77-year-old Republican presidential primary front-runner has “flip-flopped” on abortion and will seek to “override” state-level bans on the procedure if elected to a second term.
“I think for pro-life voters in Iowa, Donald Trump is taking positions that are way different than what he professed to believe when he first ran for president in 2016,” DeSantis told CNN host during the forum.
“Do you think Donald Trump is not pro-life?” Collins then asked the White House hopeful.
“Of course not,” he responded.
“I mean, when you’re saying that pro-life protections are a terrible thing, by definition, you are not pro-life,” he added.
“When you say that you want to have a federal law at 18 weeks or 20 weeks that would override a state like Iowa that has enacted pro-life protections — that would mean more abortions, not less abortions.”
![Ron DeSantis](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/republican-presidential-candidate-florida-74247847-1.jpg?w=1024)
Trump drew the ire of conservatives last year when he criticized Florida’s six-week abortion ban as a “terrible thing” and a “terrible mistake.”
DeSantis went on to slam Trump for appearing at the anti-abortion March for Life rally in Washington, DC, in 2020 and calling for protections for the unborn only to “flip-flop” on the issue.
“I don’t know if it’s because of political convenience or this is what he always believed in, but here’s the thing, some issues are pretty fundamental. How do you flip-flop on something like the sanctity of life?” DeSantis said.
![Donald Trump](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/republican-presidential-candidate-former-u-74394386-2.jpg?w=1024)
Trump leads DeSantis by a 32.7 percentage point margin in Iowa, according to RealClearPolitics average of polls, which shows the former president with 51.3% support to the Florida governor’s 18.6% backing.
The Iowa caucuses will take place on Jan. 15.