Former President Donald Trump said Arizona has gone too far after the state’s top court upheld a near-total abortion ban dating back to1864.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mr Trump said he thought the ban would quickly be “straightened out”.
The law bars abortion from conception, except to save a mother’s life.
His remarks come two days after he released a statement saying abortion rights should be left to US states, sending a mixed signal.
In the video statement posted on his social media platform Truth Social, Mr Trump also took credit for the US Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark decision that protected abortion access across the US for nearly 50 years.
He had campaigned in 2016 on appointing justices who would oppose Roe – then went on as president to name three conservatives to the court, all of whom voted to reverse Roe.
But the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was silent about a national ban of any length – now the goal of most anti-abortion activists – saying it was “up to the states to do the right thing”.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land,” he said.
On Wednesday, during a trip to Atlanta, Mr Trump went a step further, saying he would not approve a federal abortion ban if re-elected.
“Would you sign a national abortion ban if Congress sent it to your desk?” an ABC News reporter asked.
“No,” Mr Trump said, shaking his head.
And he expressed concerns about the Arizona ban, saying the governor would soon “bring it back into reason”.
Arizona’s top court ruled on Tuesday that the 160-year-old ban could be enforced, a decision with potentially sweeping implications for women’s healthcare and election-year politics in a battleground state.
