Florida" with Jim DeFede.
>>Welcome to "Facing South Florida."
I'm Jim DeFede, and this week I spoke to Charlie Crist,
who is hoping to be the Democrat
running this fall against Ron DeSantis.
We started with a conversation about his record on abortion
and his reaction to the leak of the Supreme Court decision
that shows the court
is about to strike down Roe versus Wade.
>>It's outrageous, Jim.
I mean, the notion that we're gonna have, it looks like,
a ruling come down next month in June
that's gonna take away a woman's right to choose.
It's appalling, but it's already an issue,
was an issue in Florida
because Governor DeSantis recently signed a bill
that will take away a woman's right to choose too.
And I think that's wrong.
I think it is disrespectful to all women.
I was raised with three sisters so I got this pretty early.
And I understand that everybody
has their own point of view on this thing.
But for a governor who talks about Florida
being the free-est state in the country,
well, apparently not if you're a woman
and wanna exercise your right to choose.
>>Okay, for clarity sake,
what the bill the Governor signed was
was lowering the time in which a woman
can avail herselves of abortion to 15 weeks.
The State was at 24 weeks, it moved to 15.
So it wasn't an outright ban.
But let me ask you.
>>But if I might Jim, please forgive me.
You're correct, I agree with that assessment.
But it doesn't have any exception for even rape or incest,
which is, what's the right word, draconian to me.
It's barbaric. >>Let's go to the other end
of the spectrum.
What, if any, restrictions would you place on an abortion?
>>I support Roe, Roe versus Wade.
And that permits that a woman has a choice
in both the first trimester, the second trimester,
not really in the third trimester.
And I would agree with that for the most part,
except in cases where there's the life or the health
of the mother or the child.
>>Where do you put the issue of parental consent
for minors seeking abortion?
>>I think that what's important
is that you preserve a woman's right to choose.
What's challenging here is you're talking about minors
in your immediate question, right, Jim?
And I think there's a greater sensitivity there.
This takes me back to the State Senate a little bit,
which has been a long time ago.
And I'm drawing on my memory, so.
But I think that there was a requirement
in a piece of legislation,
24-hour waiting period for minors, which I supported, I did.
And earlier though,
I had voted against a 24-hour waiting period for all women
because I felt that was intrusive and wrong.
And frankly, I did that as a Republican
on the Healthcare Committee in the State Senate.
My no vote killed the bill.
It never went to the Senate floor
'cause it died on a 3-3 tie.
>>So just to be clear.
On the issue of parental consent,
should a child, let's say under 16, seeking an abortion
need to have a parent's consent or an avenue
in which they could get either a court or somebody,
an advocate, 'cause obviously if a person
is the subject of rape or incest within the family,
they may not be able to get parental consent.
Should there be any sort of step
for a minor to get an abortion?
Or should any minor be able to just get one on their own?
>>Well, as I said, I think that's a more sensitive thing
because you're talking about a minor.
And I think that you have to evaluate that
with a physician and with the parents,
so long as there's not, as you said,
an incest situation you're dealing with there,
and rely on their input for doing what's right.
>>I just wanna ask a couple more questions on this,
then we'll move on to the campaign.
Your position seems to have changed over time.
In 2006, when you ran for Governor,
you described yourself as a pro-life Republican at the time.
And in 2010 in the Senate race, you said you would quote
fight for pro-life legislative efforts.
What's changed since 2010?
>>Nothing, nothing, and let me explain.
I was just talking to my sister,
who happens to be a physician, my younger sister.
And it was just kind of reflecting
because of what's going on with the Supreme Court,
how she felt.
And she said, well, Charlie, I've always been pro-life.
And I know you've said that in the past,
and I happen to know what you meant by it.
You meant that you're for life.
And I hope like you that everybody is for life.
And so that's what I meant.
That's how I felt.
And any vote that I've taken or veto I've made,
which I have, has been to protect a woman's right to choose.
I cited the one back in 1995 on the Healthcare Committee.
The veto came, Jim, in my last year as Governor in 2010
when the legislature sent me a bill
that would require a woman pay for and get an ultrasound
before having an abortion.
I vetoed it because I thought it was unfairly intrusive
and creating too much difficulty
for a woman in that situation.
And in Congress, I have 100% rating by Planned Parenthood,
NARAL, have already voted for a Roe versus Wade law
in the U.S. Congress.
So my record I think is crystal clear.
And I think some competitors
are trying to make it something else that it's not.
I've been endorsed by Nancy Pelosi.
And she specifically talked
about Charlie will defend reproductive rights
in the video of her endorsement that she made.
That's why I got endorsed by Kathy Castor,
my fellow Tampa Bay member of Congress.
And so I think I'm in good shape on this issue
'cause I care about women.
I respect them,
and I'll always fight for their right to choose.
And I am the only candidate in this race for Governor
who actually, as your Governor,
has vetoed an anti-abortion bill.
>>So let's talk about the race.
This is the first time we've had a chance to talk
since the legislative session this year.
Gimme your takeaway
of what the Republican controlled legislature did
in Tallahassee this time around.
>>I think it was a disaster.
And they didn't do it alone.
They did it with Governor DeSantis,
and most of it at his urging.
And let's start with Disney World.
I mean, unbelievable.
I grew up in Florida.
I moved here when I was three years old,
born in Pennsylvania.
When I grew up, I can remember
going down the street as a young kid,
and we had a black and white TV.
I've been around that long.
But the neighbor down the street, a nice Jewish couple,
had a color television.
And so they would invite my three sisters and me
every Sunday night, I think it was at 7:00,
to watch the show, "The Wonderful World of Disney."
You probably remember it, Jim.
And the notion that that kind of a revered icon
of the Sunshine State is under attack by our Governor
is mind blowing.
I mean, you know what that does for tourism in Florida?
What that does for employment?
They employ 80,000 people.
And the fact that we have that
in the Sunshine State is extraordinary.
And because they were exercising their right to free speech,
which you as a journalist understand how important that is,
just because they wanted to speak, he got ticked off at 'em
and decides he's gonna be punitive to them.
What kind of public servant,
if you serve with a servant's heart, would do that?
Especially in Florida with such an important industry.
I mean, is he anti-business?
He also sued the cruise industry in our state.
You're in Miami, you know how important that is.
I've been told that supports about 600,000 jobs in Florida.
I mean, the guy's anti-business, he's anti-democracy.
He signed a law relating to the opportunity to vote
by reducing mail in ballots.
And he's anti-women.
And that's more pertinent to what we're talking about.
What they did in the legislature during the session
was pass this ridiculous law
that's gonna take away a woman's right to choose.
That is disrespectful.
It is anti-women.
So the guy's anti-business with Disney and cruise lines.
He's anti-women with the abortion law
that they passed and he signed.
He's anti-voting, making it hard for African Americans
and minorities to vote by not having drop boxes.
They won't even call him drop boxes anymore
in minority communities throughout the State of Florida.
I mean, if this guy's not an autocrat, I don't know what is.
I'm a Democrat supporting and defending democracy.
He's an autocrat supporting and defending autocracy
with preemption laws.
>>So, let me just jump in here.
>>Okay, sorry. >>No, it's okay.
>>I'm passionate about it, I apologize.
>>There's been a lot of talk recently
that if you were the nominee
and you were to challenge Ron DeSantis,
and Val Demings is the nominee for the Senate race
against Marco Rubio, that if you and Val Demings lose,
given everything you just said, that that really means
that Florida is a conservative red state
and that Democrats nationally
should give up on the idea of competing here.
If you lose, if you lose,
should Democrats nationally give up on Florida?
>>I'm not gonna lose.
So no, they shouldn't give up on Florida.
If either Val or I did lose,
and I think we're both gonna win,
then what you said would be true.
But I know Florida's purple.
It's about a third registered Republican,
about a third registered Independent,
and about a third registered Democratic.
That's purple, almost by definition.
And remember this.
This Governor, DeSantis, got elected by the smallest amount
of any gubernatorial victory in the history of our state
that I'm aware of.
It was 1/4 of 1%.
I mean, this guy is not a giant.
He's a paper tiger.
>>Why do you think he does the things that he does?
In other words, what motivation?
Is it about Florida or is it about his national ambitions?
>>It's not anything to do with Florida.
And it's an excellent question.
And one the voters should ask themselves too.
I mean, when you're doing all this red meat, Republican,
hard right stuff, not even moderate Republican stuff,
he's looking toward the 2024
Republican primary for President of the United States.
And he's trying to out-Trump Donald Trump.
It's crystal clear to me what he's doing.
And I think it's why he's getting so much money
from around the country from other people
who feel the same way about the issues he's promoting.
It is stunning to me.
And he has completely forgotten Florida in the process.
I really think that he is in fact so laser focused
on the Republican primary,
not even Republican general election voters, Jim,
Republican primary voters in 2024
that he's intoxicated by it.
I think he's dreaming
about going to sleep in the White House already
and forgotten all about Florida
and supporting public schools,
supporting our school teachers,
making sure that middle income Floridians
can afford Florida.
You know we were just ranked
the most expensive state to live in?
More than California or New York.
And if you try to buy a home in Florida, good luck.
I mean, if you're a millionaire or a billionaire,
you're probably doing okay.
But most of us are not.
We're middle income, paycheck to paycheck,
or senior citizens on a fixed income.
You can't pay for gas.
You can't buy a car.
You can't afford to rent an apartment, buy a home.
I mean, it's outrageous.
And the Governor could be
defending and fighting on all of those fronts,
and he's doing nothing on any of them,
except promoting his future
to try to be President of the United States.