After Donald Trump expressed his views on abortion and trans rights in recent interviews, political pundit, conservative talk radio personality, and Never-Trumper Erick Erickson distanced himself further from the former president.
In 48 hours, Trump criticized pro-life laws and refused to say whether or not a guy could transition into a woman. “I’ve had enough,” the socially conservative Erickson tweeted over the weekend.
Later, in a substack post titled “World Views Colliding on the Right,” Erickson criticized the right’s lack of moral leadership. The former head of RedState famously claimed at the time that he didn’t think Trump was a conservative and did not back Trump in the 2016 election.
Erickson eventually changed his mind and voted for Trump in 2020, but said, “He’s still not a role model for my kids.”
It appears that Trump’s interviews with Megyn Kelly on her Sirius XM radio show last week, and then his appearance on Meet the Press over the weekend, were the final straw for Erickson, and he said he would not back Trump in the 2024 GOP primary. Whether he would support Trump if he were the nominee remains to be seen.
The new anchor of NBC’s Meet the Press, Kristen Welker, pressed Trump on whether or not he would enact stringent abortion prohibitions if re-elected. After initially avoiding criticism for signing the six-week moratorium, Trump lashed out at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, stating, “I believe what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”
In a question that made headlines, Kelly questioned Trump if a male could “become a woman.” Many on the right have criticized Trump for what they call his “fumbling” reaction. He said it’s about the birth. Trump asked if a man could give birth and answered his own question, saying, “No.”
Trump’s reaction infuriated many on the right, including Erickson, even though it was not a pro-trans rights response.
For this to be the “final straw,” it seems like a case of not wanting to support Trump and using this particular occasion to say so.
