Melania breaks ranks with Trump, declares she’s pro-choice
By Farrah Tomazin
Washington: Former first lady Melania Trump has broken ranks with her Republican husband on the vexed issue of abortion, declaring “there is no room for compromise” when it comes to a woman’s right to control her own body.
In a video posted to X ahead of her new book release next week, the elusive former first lady has entered the political fray in dramatic fashion, with comments that have aligned her to the central theme of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign: freedom.
Melania Trump during her first interview in two years on Fox News.Credit: Twitter
“Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard,” she says in the 27-second black-and-white clip.
“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, a memoir by former first lady Melania Trump.Credit: Skyhorse Publishing
The comments are in stark contrast to the Republican Party’s election platform – and at odds with the stance of her husband, the ex-president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump. As president, he appointed three of the conservative Supreme Court justices who ended up overturning Roe v Wade, the landmark ruling that granted women a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy.
Now 41 states have abortion bans with only limited exceptions, according to the latest figures by the Guttmacher Institute.
The video came after she was even more unequivocal in her eagerly awaited memoir, writing: “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.
“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, according to an advance copy of the book obtained by The Guardian.
With one month until the election on November 5, Melania’s decision to make such a political statement prompted questions about her motives.
After all, she was nowhere to be seen as Trump faced a six-week trial that eventually convicted him of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal.
She made a brief non-speaking appearance alongside him at the Republican National Convention shortly after he survived an assassination attempt in July, but then disappeared, yet again, from the public spotlight.
And while she has pushed out a number of social media videos promoting her book, and gave an interview to Fox & Friends ahead of its release, her comments, until now, have been relatively uncontroversial.
Asked about Melania’s memoir on Thursday (Friday AEST), Trump told Fox News: “We spoke about it, and I said you have to write what you believe. I’m not going to tell you what to do; you have to write what you believe. She’s very beloved, our former first lady, I can tell you that, but I said you have to stick with your heart.”
But Kristan Hawkins, president of the pro-life advocacy group Students for Life of America hit out at her.
“Melania Trump’s support of abortion is anti-feminist and clearly outside the teaching of our Catholic faith. She is wrong,” said Hawkins, whose group spent years lobbying politicians to curtail abortion in the US.
CNN commentator Van Jones described her intervention as “bizarre”, while others viewed it as a clever ploy to sell more books or lift her husband’s approval rating with women.
For months, Trump struggled to find a balance on abortion, which is an issue that has not only galvanised Democrats, but also cost Republicans’ votes among moderate and traditionally conservative women who fear banning abortion with virtually no exceptions goes too far.
At the 2022 midterm elections, for instance, Democrats were able to stave off an anticipated Republican red wave thanks in part to abortion being a hot button issue in most states.
In a sign of the challenge Trump faces, it took him until Tuesday to say he would veto a federal abortion ban if Republicans in Congress tried to push such a bill. But this came after months of refusing to answer questions on the subject for fear of angering his pro-life base.
Democrats and abortion rights advocates nonetheless remain sceptical, saying that he cannot be trusted when it comes to restricting reproductive rights.
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.