Trump says Florida voters are 'probably going to change' abortion laws in November

Donald Trump said Florida's "probably going to change," indicating he believes a constitutional amendment to protect abortions in the state will pass in the fall.

The amendment was approved for the statewide ballot by the Florida Supreme Court on April 1. Last week, however, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he believes the item, Amendment 4, will be rejected by voters.

However, if it surpasses the 60% threshold on Nov. 5, the amendment would presumably void the 15-week and six-week abortion bans approved by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by DeSantis, who opposed Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination until he ended his bid in January.

Speaking to reporters in Atlanta on Wednesday, April 10, Trump did not say whether, as a Florida voter, he would oppose the amendment, nor did he speak out against it.

Trump did say he believes Arizona's Supreme Court went too far in banning abortions by instituting an 1864 territorial law. He said he believes it "will be straightened out" and called on the state's Democratic governor, "and everybody else," to abide by the will of the people.

In calling for Arizona officials to oppose what their highest court has just decided, Trump appeared to backtrack on his Monday assertion that it is up to individual states to determine what their rules are "and whatever they decide must be the law of the land."

Abortion: Florida Democrats blame abortion 'nightmare' on Donald Trump; he blames Lindsey Graham

Trump again takes credit for overturning Roe v Wade

Also on Wednesday Trump again claimed credit for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which he said flipped the issue "back to the states." Doing so sets up what he defended as a "perfect system" in which each state determines its policies, even if it creates a patchwork of differing laws and regulations.

"We did that," Trump said of Roe's end. "It was an incredible thing, an incredible achievement. We did that. And now the states have it and the states are putting out what they want."

He then added: "So, Florida is probably going to change. Arizona is going to definitely change. Everybody wants that to happen."

Trump's comments drew an immediate retort from the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign.

“Donald Trump owns the suffering and chaos happening right now, including in Arizona, because he proudly overturned Roe — something he called ‘an incredible thing’ and ‘pretty amazing’ just today," said communications director Michael Tyler in a statement. "Trump lies constantly — about everything — but has one track record: banning abortion every chance he gets."

Speaking in West Palm Beach, former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run against incumbent U.S. Sen. Rick Scott this fall, said Trump and Republicans plan an all-out assault on reproductive rights, including in vitro fertilization treatments.

"Politicians are already prepping them to ban access to IVF. This is coming next, banning access to contraception," she said. "It's an attack against a woman's freedom and basic health care. So they're digging in, and they're not going to be able to hide from their toxic record."

One day earlier, Florida Democrats also kept the pressure on Trump in his home state over the issue of abortion.

At a news conference Tuesday, state Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried and state Rep. Anna Eskamani of Orlando blasted Trump over his states' rights-based stance on reproductive freedom, as well as his boast that he is "proudly responsible" for the overturning of the 1973 landmark U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision.

“Since Donald Trump overturned Roe v. Wade, voters across the country have made it overwhelmingly clear that they want politicians to stay out of this decision," Fried said. "Bans on abortion are unpopular and Donald Trump knows it."

But Trump on Wednesday insisted the feedback he has gotten after his video statement on abortions is that people are "very happy" with his position announced Monday.

"It was always about states' rights and we brought it there," he said. "And everybody is very happy with the exceptions of a few people, individual people that have their own agendas. People are very happy with my statement on abortion."

Palm Beach Post reporter Hannah Phillips contributed to this story.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump: Florida 'to change' abortion laws with constitutional amendment