DeSantis Spars With Reporter Over Abortion, Critics Fire Back at Network

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA — In an interview Monday on NBC News, Ron DeSantis doubled down on his position that Leftists support abortion until the moment of birth, despite pressure from NBC News’ Dasha Burns.

In a clip from the interview on the Today Show, DeSantis condemned efforts by “a lot of the Left” to override pro-life protections “all the way up, really, until the moment of birth, in some instances, which I think is infanticide.”

NBC’S FALSE FACT CHECK

When Burns spoke over the governor and interjected that there is no evidence or indication of Democrats pushing for abortions up until birth, DeSantis began to dispute her claims when NBC cut away to another part of the interview.

But in the full segment, which aired later on MSNBC, DeSantis cited California’s far-reaching abortion laws as an example.

“They have not instituted that policy,” Burns told DeSantis. “Yeah, they have,” DeSantis countered.

California guarantees the right to abortion in statute and its state constitution. The state also covers the cost of abortion though Medicaid and requires all private insurers to cover the procedure. Clinics in the state openly advertise third-trimester abortions in what they say is “normally a 3 day procedure depending on your medical history.”

FIERCE BACKLASH

On social media, Burns faced backlash by conservatives who quickly refuted her claims.

“Pants on fire,” NewsBusters editor Curtis Houck posted, sharing a thread specifying laws passed in New York, Colorado and Maine that do not limit abortion at any point of gestation.

“This is just factually false from @DashaBurns and emphasizes how the press can’t help but dishonestly cover for Democrats,” conservative writer A.G. Hamilton responded.

“Even in Georgia, Stacey Abrams ran on the platform that there should be no legal limit to abortion written into Georgia law,” NewsNation reporter Zaid Jilani wrote. “And this was in a fairly religious state where Republicans have controlled the state govt for 20 years.”

On Monday afternoon, the DeSantis War room released a montage of prominent Democrats including Sen. John Fetterman and Sen. Bernie Sanders, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and New York City Mayor Eric Adams affirming that no limits should be placed on women seeking abortions.

DeSantis’ campaign spokesman Bryan Griffin wrote: “And beyond these state examples, Congressional Democrats pushed for abortion up until birth in a bid that narrowly failed in 2022.”