Far-right evangelicals now in disarray over key Trump positions

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has tried to convince far-right white evangelicals that he is more anti-abortion than 2024 presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, noting that Trump criticized him for signing a six-week abortion ban into law. So far, however, it isn't working: Polls released in late September find second-place candidate DeSantis trailing well behind Trump.

Trump is anti-abortion, bragging that the three justices he appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court — Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch — all voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. But he has criticized Florida's six-week abortion ban as too severe, fearing it will alienate swing voters.

In a report published on October 2, Religion News' Jack Jenkins reports that Trump's position is "raising frustration among anti-abortion activists and spurring his Republican primary opponents to try to peel away conservative religious voters from the former president."

Anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson told Religion News, "While there are a number of areas that both sides on the abortion issue can come to an agreement on, like paid maternity leave and childcare aid, there is no compromise on whether abortion should be legal or not. No specific number of weeks is acceptable past conception for those of us who believe in the sanctity of life."

Johnson added, "Any candidate who is truly pro-life should be able to vow to sign any pro-life legislation that comes across their desk. President Trump's disappointing comments only serve as an avenue for pro-lifers to find another candidate to support."

But the Rev. Robert Jeffress, a Trump supporter and Religious Right activist, defended Trump during a recent appearance on NBC News' "Meet the Press" — saying he considers Trump "very pro-life," but the candidate is merely acknowledging "a political reality."

March for Life President Jeanne Mancini, meanwhile, told Religion News, “There is no reason why any politician, particularly one who claims to be pro-life, cannot support lifesaving measures, with at least a minimum 15-week federal standard which protects children past the point at which they can feel pain. It is the right, compassionate and even popular thing to do."