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Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a news conference Wednesday, Feb. 24, in Austin, Texas. | AP Photo Perry: Trump supporters 'are really rethinking this'

Donald Trump's rocky week is likely to force his longtime backers, especially women, to reconsider their support, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Friday.

Perry, who has supported Ted Cruz for the Republican nomination, told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" that he is not sure how Trump can recover support of women after saying in an MSNBC town hall Wednesday that women who undergo abortions should be punished if the procedure is outlawed.

“I don’t know how he gets himself out of that hole," Perry mused. "I mean, even if he stops digging, it’s so deep that I think most voters out there are like, ‘is this person really thoughtful enough, is he mature enough, does he really care enough to learn the issues?’ Real questions are starting to come up about Donald Trump and his preparedness to be president of the United States."

The former governor also rejected the notion that Cruz's recent criticism of Trump amounts to criticism of the Manhattan businessman's supporters, remarking that in a contested convention, his candidate would have the support of the Republican National Convention "by a wide margin."

"I think you’re actually bringing to the attention of the people who are angry that he talked to, whether it was the host of issues that he brought up that people are really upset about," Perry continued, "a host of issues that he's brought up that people are really upset about, but what they're seeing now is that he's not prepared."

Trump, Perry said, "either, he doesn't care about these issues or, I don't think he is lazy. I think he is a hardworking fella, but maybe he doesn't think he has to go study and know these issues."

Trump met separately with members of his foreign policy team and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus on Thursday in Washington.

"Hence, you're seeing meetings, oh, wait a minute, we are preparing. We do have some good foreign policy people with us, but at the end of the day, I think people who were for Donald Trump six months ago are really rethinking this," Perry said. "Women, in particular. They're seeing some things come out of his mouth that are really horrendous when it comes to women and, you know, whether it is foreign policy or whether it is social issues, real concerns, I think a lot of those people are having second thoughts about Donald Trump now. And Ted Cruz is the obvious place to go for them.”