Melania Trump claims Donald Trump knew her position on abortion ‘from the day we met’

Former first lady Melania Trump on Sunday defended her beliefs on abortion, which she detailed in an upcoming memoir and which appear to conflict with those of her husband, former President Donald Trump.

“(Donald Trump) knew my position and my beliefs from the day we met. And I believe in individual freedom. I want to decide what I want to do with my body. “I don’t think I want the government in my personal affairs,” Melania Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo in a pre-recorded interview that aired Sunday.

Her comments come days after The Guardian published excerpts from her book in which she wrote: “It is essential to guarantee women the autonomy to decide their preferences regarding having children, based on their own beliefs, free from any government intervention or pressure “

“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to decide what she does with her body? A woman’s fundamental right to personal freedom and to her own life gives her the right to terminate her pregnancy if she wants it,” added “Melania” in her upcoming memoirs.

The former first lady also expressed her beliefs in a promotional video for the book published on X last week.

“Individual freedom is the basic principle that I defend. There is undoubtedly no room for compromise when it comes to this fundamental right that all women are entitled to from birth,” Melania Trump said in the video.

“Individual freedom. What does “my body, my choice” really mean? she added.

Last week – about a month before Election Day – the former first lady publicly shared her views on abortion for the first time, which will be an especially important issue heading into November as Democrats try to portray Donald Trump as someone who will seek to ban abortion. if selected.

In an interview on Sunday, Melania Trump addressed the questions she faced after going public with her views so close to the election, telling Bartiromo: “Well, it wasn’t written last week or last month.[…]This book was written several months earlier and a few months earlier it was published in print. This was my belief and this is my belief, and I wanted to write it down in the book because I want to be authentic.”

Asked by Bartiromo if she was concerned that voters might change their opinion of her husband because of her views, the former first lady replied: “I’m not worried. Everyone has to decide what they want to do.”

The former first lady said Donald Trump “knew” her position would be in the book, adding: “It allows me to be who I am and it allows me to believe what I believe. It allows me to be myself. And he respects that and I respect that, because I let him be himself. He has different beliefs and he will do what he believes in.”

Melania Trump’s comments echoed her husband’s comments to Fox News on Thursday, in which he said: “We talked 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 in.”

“She is very loved,” he added. “People love our former first lady, I can say that, but I said, ‘You’ve got to hold on to your heart.’ I’ve told everyone this: “You have to follow your heart.”

Earlier this week, in a Truth Social post, Trump said he would veto an abortion ban if one came to his desk as president. The former president’s views on this subject have consistently evolved.

In May 2023, Trump celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, writing in a social media post: “After 50 years of failure, with no one even close, I managed to kill Roe v. Wade, much to my great surprise. “a ‘shock’ for everyone.”

And when he was president, Trump called on the Senate to adopt a 20-week abortion limit, which had already passed the House.

Earlier this year, the former president flirted with a 15-week federal abortion limit. “The current number of weeks – people agree on 15 and I think about it in that context and something will come out that will be very reasonable. But people actually – even the hardliners agree – it seems like 15 weeks, that seems to be the number that people agree on,” he said in a WABC radio interview.

In August, Trump told NBC News that Florida’s six-week abortion ban, which was signed by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, was “too short.” Trump added: “It’s going to take more time.”

A few days later, he explained that he would vote against this year’s Florida ballot initiative that would have guaranteed the right to abortion as long as the fetus was viable.