Melania Trump splits with husband’s abortion stance in memoir.
Her apparent support of abortion access puts her at odds with her husband, who has taken credit for helping to overturn Roe v Wade.
Melania Trump, the wife of Donald Trump, said in a video on Thursday that there was “no room for compromise” on a woman’s right to “individual freedom” – a position on abortion rights at apparent odds with that of her husband, the Republican U.S. presidential candidate.
Her comments come as Trump and his running mate, U.S. Senator JD Vance, have attempted to soften the hard edges of the Republican Party’s position on abortion, a major obstacle in winning over female voters ahead of the Nov 5 election.
“Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard,” she says in the video that she posted to X to promote her memoir that is due to be released next week.
“Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth, individual freedom. What does ‘my body, my choice’ really mean?”
Melania Trump, a former model who was first lady during Trump’s 2017-2021 term and has been mostly absent so far on the campaign trail, has a history of offering cryptic statements to the public. In 2018, on a trip to the U.S. border, she wore a jacket that bore the slogan “I really don’t care, do you?” that went without explanation.
But in an excerpt from the memoir published by the British site the Guardian on Wednesday, she was more explicit about her position on abortion rights.
“A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” she wrote.
Trump had previously taken credit for appointing three U.S. Supreme Court justices who helped in 2022 to overturn the seminal abortion rights case, Roe v. Wade. But since winning the Republican primary earlier this year, he has sought to offer a more nuanced stance on the issue as he seeks the support of moderate and independent voters.
Peoplesmind