Former President Donald Trump defended his wife after her support for abortion rights attracted backlash from social conservatives.
In a promotional video for her memoir, as well as in excerpts of the book obtained by the Guardian, former first lady Melania Trump has shocked some conservatives by breaking with the GOP on abortion.
During a Fox News interview aired Thursday, Donald Trump defended his wife’s choice to reveal her position on the controversial topic.
“We spoke about it. And I said you have to write what you believe. I’m not going to tell you what you to do. You have to write what you believe,” Donald Trump told Fox News reporter Bill Melugin.
The former president noted that “here are some people that are very, very far-right on the issue, meaning without exceptions.”
“And then there are other people who view it a little differently than that,” Donald Trump added.
At the end of the day, Donald Trump said he told Melania Trump that “you have to stick with your heart. I’ve said that to everybody. You have to go with your heart.”
The former first lady recently posted a video promoting her memoir Melania with a message that said: “Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard. Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to these essential rights that all women possess from birth.”
“Individual freedom. What does ‘my body, my choice’ really mean?” Melania Trump concluded in a teaser video posted to X on Thursday.
https://t.co/ZCTwZSqZND pic.twitter.com/Y9MT3uj97b
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) October 3, 2024
Excerpts from her book previously reported by the Guardian provide further insight into the private former first lady’s stance on abortion.
“It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government,” Melania Trump writes.
Donald Trump’s comments to Melugin indicate the validity of the reported excerpts.
The former first lady’s public abortion-rights stance has sparked a fallout among social conservatives.
“Who is this Melania Trump, or Kamala Harris? Functionally the same exact position on abortion,” Lila Rose, the founder of Live Action, said in a post to X. Her national “human rights” organization reaches 75 million people a month, according to Live Action’s website.
SBA Pro-Life America, another key driver in the movement to end abortions, also weighed in on Melania Trump’s comments on abortion.
“Much of what she’s saying is simply not correct,” the organization said in a post to X.
The women of America are capable of great strength and creativity. They are naturally inclined to speak for those who are powerless.
Abortion is not the source of their freedom and liberation.
1/2 https://t.co/jhhJkxJiiX— Marjorie Dannenfelser (@marjoriesba) October 3, 2024
The former first lady isn’t the only Trump who has faced backlash over support for relaxing restrictions on abortion.
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The former president has already broken with some social conservatives due to his refusal to back a national ban on abortion, as well as his support for letting each state dictate its own abortion laws. Earlier this year, he backed efforts that watered down the GOP’s platform on abortion.
However, Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), have been consistent in their attacks on Democratic-run states for allowing late-term abortions. Six states across the country, including Minnesota, place no limits on abortion. Donald Trump called the position “radical” during his debate last month with Vice President Kamala Harris.
