![Republican Candidate Donald Trump Takes Part In Televised Town Hall In Green Bay trump matthews abortion comments defend](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/trump-matthews-abortion-comments-defend.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Donald Trump’s allies defended him on Wednesday after the Republican frontrunner walked back his comments about women deserving “some form of punishment” for undergoing abortions.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told WKXW New Jersey that Trump “obviously misspoke” about punishing women for abortion, and the Trump campaign statement released later on Wednesday — that physicians should receive any punishment for performing abortions if they were made illegal — is correct.
“Well listen, I think everybody in public life misspeaks,” Christie said. “My point is that he’s no different than everybody else running. When you have a microphone in front of you, you know, a lot of times a day, every day, there are going to be times when you’re going to misspeak.”
Ben Carson, a surgeon, also chalked the former television show host’s initial comments up to inexperience with the media.
“Bear in mind, I don’t believe that he was warned that that question was coming, and I don’t think he really had a chance to really think about it,” Carson told CNN Wednesday.”That happens very frequently, and you know, what you develop with experience is how to answer that in a way that is not definitive.”
Political commentator Ann Coulter, who took issue with Trump retweeting a photo of Heidi Cruz last week, tweeted in the candidate’s defense overnight.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Biden Dropped Out
- Ukraine’s Plan to Survive Trump
- The Rise of a New Kind of Parenting Guru
- The Chaos and Commotion of the RNC in Photos
- Why We All Have a Stake in Twisters’ Success
- 8 Eating Habits That Actually Improve Your Sleep
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com