Former President Donald Trump is taking heat from all sides of the abortion issue after he criticized Republican-led states for enacting tough restrictions on the procedure.
Trump is addressing the issue on the campaign trail as he seeks support for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. His competitors for the nomination are blasting him for saying Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a "terrible mistake" signing a six-week abortion ban. A similar ban signed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is currently tied up in the courts. Trump is following a general election strategy by appearing moderate on the issue.
“We have to win elections otherwise we'll be back where we were," Trump said at a campaign event in Dubuque. "In order to win in 2024, Republicans must learn how to properly talk about abortion.”
Trump regularly points out he was responsible for nominating three of the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade.
“Nobody believed [overturning the right to an abortion] would happen," Trump said. "While other [Republican presidents] talked about it, what president after 52 years actually delivered?”
DeSantis recently told Radio Iowa he doesn’t understand how Trump can call himself pro-life if he’s criticizing states for enacting pro-life protections for babies.
Iowa Republicans will be first to make a choice in the 2024 primary season when they caucus Jan. 15.
