Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday distanced himself from an Arizona court ruling upholding a near-total abortion ban, saying it went too far.

Mr. Trump sought to shift the discussion away from abortion earlier this week when he said the issue should be left up to the states to decide. But the Arizona Supreme Court thrust the issue back into the spotlight Tuesday when it upheld an abortion ban that was established in 1864.

“Yeah, they did,” Mr. Trump told reporters in Atlanta when asked whether the court went too far. “That’ll be straightened out.”

He added, “I’m sure that the governor and everybody else are going to bring it back to within reason.”

Mr. Trump has taken credit for installing the conservative Supreme Court justices who led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that provided a national right to abortion.

But the former president has shied away from backing the social and religious conservatives who have called for a federal abortion ban and has insisted laws should include exceptions for cases of rape, incest and the mother’s life.

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Mr. Trump also blamed the GOP’s disappointing showing in the 2022 midterm elections on candidates who vowed to support strict limits on abortion. The tough anti-abortion stands didn’t sit well with many voters, namely women who helped power President Biden to victory in 2020.

The Arizona law establishes a two- to five-year prison sentence for those who assist in an abortion — with the sole exception when it comes to saving the mother’s life.

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.