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Pro-lifers blast Trump 'betrayal' with shifting abortion stance, answer on Florida Amendment 4

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Pro-lifers blast Trump 'betrayal' with shifting abortion stance, answer on Florida Amendment 4

Former President Trump’s recent comments on abortion, including remarks that sparked some initial confusion about where Trump stood on an amendment that would upend Florida’s ban on abortions after six weeks’ gestation, have sparked backlash from pro-life advocates on social media.

Trump’s latest – and clearest – comments about Florida’s Amendment 4, which would enshrine a constitutional right to abortion in the state, may blunt some of the criticism. After Trump made remarks on Thursday that appeared to indicate he might back the amendment, the former president told Fox News Channel’s Bryan Llenas on Friday afternoon: “I’ll be voting ‘no.’”

Still, the comment confusion, coupled with some other recent statements, have rankled the pro-life community.

“Trump has destroyed both the conservative movement and the pro-life movement. He’s done what even Barack Obama couldn’t do,” one user on X said.

Former Vice President Mike Pence also posted to X, saying, “I’m pro-life. I don’t apologize for it.”

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HARRIS REPEATS DEBUNKED CLAIM TRUMP WANTS TO ‘BAN’ ABORTION DURING FIRST CAMPAIGN RALLY SINCE BIDEN QUIT RACE

Former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Aug. 23. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Georgia-based nationally syndicated radio host Erick Erickson also slammed Trump’s comments, saying on X, “Instead of having all the focus on the Kamala Harris interview tonight, Trump decided to further divide the GOP. Not a good strategy for winning.”

Other users expressed anger over Trump’s “betrayal” of the pro-life movement, which helped elect him in 2016. 

“If Pro-lifers had a spine and punished Trump for his betrayal by staying home in November, he would lose so badly that no Republican would ever dare to betray you on such an important issue,” one X user said. “Sadly, he knows most of you will still vote for him so the betrayals will intensify.”

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Online political influencer and former police officer John Cardillo said he would be voting for Trump, but would “criticize him when he promotes Democrat policies.”

“I don’t care how you spin it. Trump told NBC he’s voting for a Soros funded unrestricted abortion amendment in FL,” he wrote on X. 

JD VANCE VOWS TRUMP WOULD NOT IMPOSE FEDERAL ABORTION BAN, VETO IT IF IT COMES ACROSS HIS DESK

Pro-life activists protest outside where Planned Parenthood has a mobile van offering free vasectomies and medicinal abortions near the Democratic National Convention In Chicago on Aug. 20. (Fox News Digital)

A spokesperson for Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who unsuccessfully challenged Trump in the 2024 primaries and who signed the abortion ban into law — also responded after Trump initially seemed to signal some support for Amendment 4.

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“Donald Trump has consistently stated that late-term abortions where a baby can feel pain should never be permitted, and he’s always stood up for parents’ rights. Amendment 4 would allow late-term abortions, eliminate parental consent, and open the door to taxpayer-funded abortions,” Taryn Fenske said on X.  “It’s extreme and must be defeated.”

Conservative commentator David Limbaugh, brother of the late conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, said he “wholeheartedly” supports Trump, but that he “needs some ardent pro-lifers in his campaign-advisory inner circle.”

REP. MAXINE WATERS DODGES QUESTION ON CONTROVERSIAL ABORTION PROCEDURE

People attend the annual March for Life rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 19. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

“Unforced errors are worse than run of the mill errors. Appeasement strategies that alienate more supporters than impress non-supporters are just plain disappointing,” he said on X.

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Last week, Trump also upset anti-abortion activists when he posted on his Truth Social platform, “My Administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights.” He has also indicated he would not restrict access to abortion prescriptions. 

This election cycle, Trump has countered Democratic attacks by stating he would leave abortion access to the states, as determined by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and opposes a federal abortion ban. The Republican Party also abandoned its long-standing position of advocating for abortion limits in July. However, Trump has remained opposed to late-term abortions.

On Thursday, Trump also said he would subsidize federal IVF treatments, despite saying abortion would be considered a state issue. The Trump campaign did not directly respond to what constitutes a state issue versus a federal one when asked via email.

TRUMP RISKS LOSING SOME PRO-LIFE VOTERS UNLESS HE CHANGES ‘HIS TUNE’ ON ABORTION, ACTIVIST WARNS

“I think the six-week is too short, there has to be more time,” Trump told an NBC News reporter when asked how he will vote on Florida’s Amendment 4 that will appear on the ballot for November elections. “I’ve told them that I want more weeks,” he continued. 

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The reporter then pressed if Trump would vote in favor of the amendment. 

“I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks. Look, just so you understand, everybody wanted Roe v. Wade terminated for years, 52 years. I got it done. They wanted it to go back to the states. Exceptions are very important for me, for Ronald Reagan, for others that have navigated this very, very interesting and difficult path,” Trump responded. 

The Trump campaign pushed back on the notion that Trump had come out in favor of the abortion amendment, telling Fox News Digital on Thursday evening that the 45th president has not yet revealed how he will vote on Amendment 4. 

“President Trump has not yet said how he will vote on the ballot initiative in Florida, he simply reiterated that he believes six weeks is too short,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. 

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Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

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Two attorneys vanish during Florida fishing trip as ‘heartbroken’ wife pleads for help finding them

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Two attorneys vanish during Florida fishing trip as ‘heartbroken’ wife pleads for help finding them

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Two attorneys have vanished off the coast of Florida during a routine fishing trip, prompting one wife to share that she is “heartbroken” following her husband and his uncle’s disappearance in Fort Myers, Florida.

Randall Spivey, 57, and his 33-year-old nephew Brandon Billmaier left before dawn on Friday, Dec. 19, heading out from Fort Myers aboard a 42-foot Freeman fishing boat. Family members say the men were familiar with the waters and planned to be back the same day.

When evening came and there was no word from either man, concern quickly escalated, prompting Billmaier’s wife, Deborah, to contact the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). By late Friday night, the USCG launched an emergency response, sending aircraft to search the Gulf.

“I am heartbroken posting this. My husband, Brandon, went out fishing yesterday with his uncle off the coast of Fort Myers,” Deborah wrote in an Instagram post. “They left early in the morning on Friday, Dec. 19 and were meant to come back that afternoon.”

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Brandon Billmaier, 33, went missing while fishing off the coast of Florida with his uncle, Randall Spivey. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

DESPERATE SEARCH FOR 2 MEN UNDERWAY AFTER FISHING BOAT FOUND EMPTY 70 MILES OFF FLORIDA COAST

In the early morning hours of Sunday, Dec. 20, the boat was found drifting roughly 70 miles off the coast.

“The helicopter has continued searching throughout the night. As the sun rises, we are looking for additional help in the search efforts. If you or someone you know can help, please reach out to us,” she wrote. “If you cannot, please keep them in your prayers as we continue to have faith that we will find them.”

The boat that missing fishermen Randall Spivey, 57, and his nephew, Brandon Billmaier, 33, were on was found empty. (U.S. Coast Guard Sector St Petersburg)

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5 FISHERMEN RESCUED AFTER 55 DAYS ADRIFT AT SEA

A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard Southeast District said that the boat was still running when it was found, but both men were nowhere to be found. 

“The boat was in gear,” Riley Perkofski said. “We deployed a swimmer, and then the swimmer deployed the vessel’s anchor so that it wouldn’t keep moving.”

The Coast Guard said that they found that the boat’s transmitter, known as an emergency position-indicating radio beacon, was still on the vessel. 

Randall Spivey, 57, is 6-foot-1 and was last seen in khaki pants and a dark-colored shirt. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

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The Coast Guard and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) continue coordinated air and sea searches across the Gulf of Mexico. Authorities are asking anyone who may know the whereabouts of Spivey and Billmaier to contact the LCSO at 239-477-1000, or 911. They can also contact SWFL Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS to remain anonymous.

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Spivey was last seen wearing khaki pants and a dark-colored shirt. He has brown hair and brown eyes and is 6’1″, weighing 245 pounds. Billmaier is 6’2″ and weighs 250 pounds. He has strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and Sophia Compton contributed to this report.

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Trump-backed Donalds vows to maintain DeSantis ‘trajectory,’ take Florida to ‘whole new level’

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Trump-backed Donalds vows to maintain DeSantis ‘trajectory,’ take Florida to ‘whole new level’

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MAGA champion Rep. Bryon Donalds, a top ally of President Donald Trump in the House, is on a roll as he runs to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis as Florida’s next governor.

With over ten months to go until next year’s election, the three-term Republican representative from a red-leaning district in southwest Florida is sitting on a massive fundraising war chest and is far ahead of his GOP primary rivals in the latest public opinion polling.

But Donalds takes “nothing for granted.”

“I’ve been all over the state, crisscrossing and nonstop. We have a very strong campaign. The people of Florida have been very receptive to my message and the ideas we’re bringing to this campaign,” Donalds highlighted in an interview last week with Fox News Digital at his congressional office in the nation’s capital.

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SETTING THE STAGE: WHAT THE 2025 ELECTIONS SIGNAL FOR NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM SHOWDOWNS

Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida is interviewed by Fox News Digital ahead of his 2026 campaign kickoff for governor, in Bonita Springs, Florida on March 28, 2025 (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News )

Donalds was endorsed by Trump in February, before he even formally launched his campaign for governor.

While giving Donalds a big boost, the president’s backing hasn’t prevented other Republicans from entering the GOP primary race.

Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner launched his bid in September, and late last month investor James Fishback, who had generated some buzz in MAGA world earlier this year before clashing with top Trump advisers, also jumped into the race.

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And Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, a former Green Beret and army veteran, has been mulling a run.

But Donalds remains the overwhelming frontrunner.

“People want to run. They want to run. That’s fine, but we’re focused on our race, and that’s contacting voters. I’ve been in 41 counties doing political events. I’ve been in 50 counties, when you consider fundraising and political events,” Donalds highlighted.

Donalds said he is “very honored to have President Trump’s endorsement. Now I have to go county by county, city by city to get the endorsement and the support from the people of our state.”

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, seen speaking on Feb. 5, 2025, in Miami, is term-limited and cannot seek re-election in 2026.  (AP/Rebecca Blackwell)

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DeSantis remains mum on the race to succeed him, not backing Donalds or any of the other contenders, which earlier this year also for a time included his wife, first lady Casey DeSantis.

Donalds was once a close ally of the governor, but their relationship soured when Donalds endorsed Trump for president over DeSantis in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race.

“It’s been better,” Donalds said when asked by Fox News Digital about his relationship with the governor. “But at the end of the day, it’s about the trajectory of our state. Would love to earn Gov. DeSantis support in this campaign, but at the end of the day, we are going to take all of the hard work that he’s done for our state, and it’s been tremendous, we’re going to take that work and we’re going to build upon it, and that’s what matters.”

DESANTIS WARNS GOP FACES ‘ISSUE’ KEEPING TRUMP VOTERS ENGAGED IN FUTURE ELECTIONS

Democrats are likely to have a competitive primary between Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and former Rep. David Jolly, a Republican-turned-Democrat. But in battleground-turned-red-state Florida, most of the attention is focused on the Republicans.

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Dan Eberhart, a Florida-based oil drilling chief executive officer and a prominent Republican donor who’s raised big bucks for Trump and DeSantis this decade and who is also in Donalds’ political orbit, told Fox News Digital, “Donald’s MAGA credentials and fundraising prowess put him in the driver’s seat” in the GOP primary.

Eberhart noted “Donalds having a primary will make him a better general election candidate,” and emphasized that the congressman “is doing all of the right things to win both the primary and the general election.”

Rep. Byron Donalds shakes hands with then-former President Donald Trump during the Moms for Liberty national summit, on June 30, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Trump and Republicans spotlighted rising prices as they swept to major victories in 2024, retaking the White House and Senate and holding their majority in the House.

But with inflation remaining persistent, Democrats have been laser focused this year on the issue of affordability, which fueled their decisive victories in last month’s 2025 elections and their overperformances this year in a slew of special elections.

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And those contests saw a drop-off in turnout by MAGA voters, with Trump not on the ballot.

TOP 5 GAME-CHANGERS FROM THE 2025 CAMPAIGN TRAIL

“Are the Democrats motivated? Fine,” Donalds said when asked about the Democrats’ energy. “We are going to make sure that we get Republican voters out to the polls, because at the end of the day, the people of Florida love the trajectory set by Governor DeSantis. We’re going to maintain that trajectory, and we’re going to build it and take Florida to a whole new level.”

And pointing specifically to affordability, Donalds predicted, “over the next year, you’re going to see a lot of these economic changes, decisions made by the President of the United States, have real impacts in the lives of the American people. Positive impacts.”

But the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) argued, “Whether in DC or Tallahassee, Byron Donalds has spent his political career helping to make Florida the least affordable state in the country.”

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“From supporting cost-raising tariffs to voting to spike the cost of everything from health care to housing, Byron Donalds is one of the architects of the affordability crisis devastating Florida families,” DGA spokesperson Kevin Donohoe charged in a statement to Fox News Digital.

And pointing to this month’s Miami mayoral election, where the Democrats won for the first time in a quarter-century, Donohoe said “the Miami mayoral race showed that Florida voters are looking for change — but Byron Donalds would just offer more of the same.”

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Asked about the results in Miami, Donalds said, “I do acknowledge what happened in the city of Miami, but that’s not going to happen in the state of Florida.”

“Florida is going to continue to be a red state, because the people of Florida know what conservative policies are they want that to continue. It’s been the best state going in the entire country, and we’re not going to stop here,” he added.

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Manhunt underway for 3 ‘dangerous’ inmates who broke out of Georgia jail

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Manhunt underway for 3 ‘dangerous’ inmates who broke out of Georgia jail

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Authorities announced Monday that three inmates, possibly armed and considered dangerous, have escaped from a jail in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.

Officials said the fugitives escaped early Monday morning from the DeKalb County Jail in Decatur, a northeastern suburb of Atlanta. The inmates were reportedly facing felony charges, including murder, arson and armed robbery.

“Authorities say these fugitives may be armed and are considered dangerous,” the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on social media. “The public is urged to exercise extreme caution and should not approach them.”

The inmates were first discovered missing during a routine security check, officials said. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit, along with uniformed patrol units, is actively working to locate and apprehend the individuals.

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ARMED AND DANGEROUS INMATE ESCAPES ATLANTA HOSPITAL, STEALS GUN AND SUV: POLICE

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said three inmates have escaped from DeKalb County Jail.  (DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office)

“We take this breach very seriously and are working diligently to ensure these individuals are safely returned to custody as quickly as possible,” Sheriff Melody M. Maddox said in a statement.

The fugitives have been identified as 24-year-old Stevenson Charles, 31-year-old Yusuf Minor and 25-year-old Naod Yohannes.

According to the U.S. Marshals, Charles is considered “extremely dangerous” and was serving a life sentence at the time of his escape, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. 

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LOUISIANA MANHUNT CONTINUES AS DANGEROUS INMATE CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER REMAINS ON THE RUN

A manhunt is underway after three inmates escaped from DeKalb County Jail early Monday. (DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office)

Local authorities said Charles had been charged with murder and armed robbery. He has also been accused of child rape, specifically sodomy on a person less than 10 years old, kidnapping, carjacking, aggravated assault, weapons violations and probation violations, Fox 5 reported, citing U.S. Marshals.

He is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing approximately 200 pounds. According to U.S. Marshals, he has close ties to both Atlanta and Miami, the local station said.

Authorities urge residents to avoid approaching the possibly armed fugitives. (DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office)

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The Sheriff’s Office added that Minor was charged with two counts of armed robbery and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Yohannes was reportedly charged with simple assault, arson and unlawful acts of violence in a penal institution.

Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Tip Line at 404-298-8200.

Fox News Digital reached out to U.S. Marshals for more information.

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