Former President Donald Trump vowed to walk "side by side" with the Christian, anti-abortion Danbury Institute, as he spoke to the organization on Monday, according to The Washington Post.
In April, the former president said during an interview that the decision on whether or not to prosecute women over abortions should be left to the states.
Politico notes in a Monday, June 10 report, "For all his efforts to avoid the issue and 'make both sides happy,' as he has long promised, Trump still got hit by both sides — from Democrats for appearing at all, and from some of his own voters in the room for skirting a topic at the top of their agenda."
READ MORE: Trump to address group calling abortion 'child sacrifice'
The news outlet reports:
In a pre-taped video address just under two minutes long to the Danbury Institute, which calls abortion 'child sacrifice,' Trump did not mention the word 'abortion' at all, even though the group’s CEO praised Trump in an introduction for addressing, as president, what he called 'the most important issue facing our country and the next generation of our children who are being slaughtered in the womb.'
Instead, Trump told the group, 'You just can’t vote Democrat. They’re against religion. They’re against your religion in particular.'
"He sounded more like a politician who wants to be elected," First Baptist church of Sylacauga, Alabama Rich Patrick told Politico. "I voted for him and I plan to vote for him again, but he was not like the other speakers who were here talking about religious things."
Politico notes, "President Joe Biden’s campaign blasted Trump as a politician who 'loves campaigning with abortion ban extremists.' And the Indiana Democratic Party joined in Monday morning, accusing Trump of 'doing the bidding of the most extreme anti-choice groups in the country.'"
But the conservative crowd was not pleased.
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"It’s disappointing because you would hope to have a Republican presidential candidate who speaks strongly that life begins at conception," ex-GOP presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis supporter Kevin McClure told Politico.
Politico's full report is available here.