RFK Jr. Flip Flops Wildly on Abortion Ban Comments
Hours after saying he “would” sign a federal ban on abortion, Kennedy’s team said he simply “misunderstood” the question.

SCOTT MORGAN/Reuters
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears all over the place when it comes to abortion. In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, he said he’d sign a federal three-month abortion ban—a rather restrictive position for a Democrat to hold. “I believe a decision to abort a child should be up to the women during the first three months of life,” Kennedy said at the Iowa State Fair. He was asked if he would sign a federal ban to that effect. “Yes. I would,” he responded. But hours later, Kennedy’s team walked back those comments, claiming in a statement to The Hill that the candidate “misunderstood” the question. “He does not support legislation banning abortion,” the statement said. But Ali Vitali, the NBC reporter who asked the question, didn’t buy it. She posted the full transcript of the exchange to Twitter, saying that she asked the question “multiple times to make sure we’re understanding—even at one point saying I was surprised by the stance.”
Here’s the full exchange with Kennedy, in which I ask the questions multiple times to make sure we’re understanding- even at one point saying I was surprised by the stance.
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) August 14, 2023
Full story here and video TK: https://t.co/NHWNhlaLL5 https://t.co/t9NbrnqRG4 pic.twitter.com/U9FBPDNY2A
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.