In an interview with Fox News, the former first lady spoke about her beliefs on abortion ahead of the release of her memoir titled 'Melania.'
First lady Melania Trump on Sunday defended her beliefs on abortion, which she detailed in her upcoming memoir and which appear to contrast 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 liberty. I want to decide what I want to do with my body. I don't think I want the government to get involved in my personal affairs,” Melania Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo in a pre-recorded interview that aired on Sunday.
Her comments come days after The Guardian published excerpts from her book in which she wrote: “It is imperative to ensure that women have the autonomy to decide their preference to have children, based on their own convictions, free from any government intervention or pressure.”
“Why should anyone other than a woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman’s fundamental right to individual liberty, to her own life, gives her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she so chooses,” she added in her upcoming book, Melania.
The former first lady also expressed her beliefs in a promotional video for the book released on X last week.
“Individual liberty is a fundamental principle that I stand for. There is certainly no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth,” Melania Trump said in the video that had 16.8 million views as of Sunday.
“Individual liberty. What does ‘my body, my choice’ really mean?” she added.
Last week, about a month before Election Day, was the first time the former first lady publicly shared her views on abortion, a particularly prominent issue ahead of November as Democrats try to paint Donald Trump as someone who would seek to ban abortion if elected.
In Sunday’s interview, Melania Trump addressed the questions she has faced after going public with her views so close to the election, telling Bartiromo: “Well, that wasn’t written in the last week or the last month… That book was written months before and printed months before. So that was my belief, and it is my belief, and I wanted to put it in the book, because I want to be authentic.”
When Bartiromo asked if she was concerned that voters might change their opinions of her husband because of her views, the former first lady said: “I’m not worried. Everybody should decide what they want to do.”
The former first lady said Donald Trump “knew” her position would be in the book, adding: “He lets me be who I am and lets me believe what I believe. He lets me be my own person. And he respects that, and I respect that because I let him be his own person. He has different beliefs and he will do what he believes.”
Melania Trump’s comments echoed her husband’s remarks to Fox News on Thursday, in which he said, “We talked about it and I said to him, ‘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 well-liked,” he added. “People love our former first lady, I can tell you that, but I said to her, ‘You have to follow your heart.’ I’ve told everyone, ‘You have to follow your heart.’”
Earlier this week, in a post on Truth Social, Trump said he would veto an abortion ban if one reached his desk as president. The former president’s views on the issue have been constantly changing.
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 coming even close, I was able to overturn Roe v. Wade.” Wade, much to everyone’s ‘shock’.”
And when he was president, Trump asked the Senate to approve a 20-week limit on abortions that had already been approved by the House of Representatives.
Earlier this year, the former president flirted with a 15-week federal limit on abortion. “The number of weeks now, people agree on 15, and I’m thinking about that, and it will come out to something very reasonable. But people really agree, even the hardliners, it seems to be 15 weeks, it seems to be a number that people agree on,” he said in a WABC radio interview.
And in August, Trump told NBC News that Florida’s ban on abortion at six weeks gestation, which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, is “too short.” Trump added, “There needs to be more time.”
Days later, he clarified that he would vote against a ballot initiative in Florida this year that would guarantee the right to abortion up to fetal viability.
