During a town hall on the Fox News Channel on Wednesday, 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump responded to a question on him blaming abortion for some Republican election losses and criticism of heartbeat laws by stating that he has to have life of the mother, rape, and incest exemptions, but beyond that “I want to get something where people are happy.” And “we’re going to come up with something that people want and people like.” And he thinks that rival 2024 Republican candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ abortion position might have been the reason for him sliding in the polls because “if you talk five or six weeks, a lot of women don’t know if they’re pregnant in five or six weeks.” And “You have to go with your heart first, go with your heart, your mind, go with it. But you do also have to put in there a little bit, you have to win elections.”
Trump said, “I happen to be for the exceptions, like Ronald Reagan, with the life of the mother, rape, incest, I just have to be there, I feel. I think probably 78% or so [support that]. … But I will say this, you have to win elections. Otherwise, you’re going to be back where you were. And you can’t let that ever happen again. You’ve got to win elections. If you look at it, Ron DeSantis — I don’t know what he really believes, because you never know with a politician and he’s just another politician as far as I’m concerned — but his poll numbers have gone down to a level that he’s going to be out of the race very soon. … I don’t know if that [was] the reason. I hope it wasn’t the reason. I hope it’s for other reasons. I could see a lot of other reasons why he shouldn’t be, but he’s doing very, very poorly. It happened to coincide with that. Because a lot of people say…if you talk five or six weeks, a lot of women don’t know if they’re pregnant in five or six weeks.”
He continued, “I want to get something where people are happy. This has been tearing our country apart for 50 years. … I understand exactly where you’re coming from. I love where you’re coming from. But we still have to win elections. And they’ve used this — we have some great Republicans, and they’re great on the issue… and a lot of them have just been decimated in the election. … So, we’re going to come up with something that people want and people like. I would love you to — first of all, you have to go with your heart. You have to go with your heart first, go with your heart, your mind, go with it. But you do also have to put in there a little bit, you have to win elections. But if it weren’t for me with Roe v. Wade, … you wouldn’t be asking that question. And remember this, they’re the radicals, we’re not the radicals. … But we’re living in a time when there has to be a little of a concession one way or the other. … So, I think you’re going to be happy in the end.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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