Former President Donald Trump snapped at a reporter on Election Day when asked about Florida’s abortion ballot measure.
The measure, Amendment 4, would prohibit laws preventing abortion and reverse the state’s strict six-week abortion ban that went into effect earlier this year. Florida is one of ten states where abortion rights are on the ballot this election. Currently, Florida’s post-Dobbs abortion law makes it a felony to perform or actively participate in an abortion six weeks after gestation. Technically, the ban has exceptions for rape, incest and human trafficking up to 15 weeks, and to save a woman’s life or prevent “substantial and irreversible” impairment. However, as experts have pointed out to Salon — and previous reports have shown — these exceptions are difficult to access.
After Trump cast his ballot in Palm Beach, Florida, he answered a variety of questions from reporters alongside his wife Melania Trump.
When Trump was first asked about how he voted on Amendment, he dodged the question. Trump instead responded that "we did a great job on that, we brought it back to the states,” referring to the Supreme Court Justices he appointed that were responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 with the Dobbs decision.
Asked a second time, Trump shut the reporter down.
“Just stop talking about that,” the 78-year-old responded with a wave of his hand.
Trump has gone back and forth on his stance on Amendment 4. In August, he told NBC he would vote to extend Florida’s restrictive six week ban. Just a day later, he told Fox News' Bryan Llenas that he would not vote in favor of the ballot measure. The bill has been a contentious issue in Florida and Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has thrown all his political power into ensuring it doesn't pass.
