Melania Trump’s abortion views baffle both sides: ‘Hard to follow the logic’ | Melania Trump

The revelation Wednesday night that Melania Trump’s upcoming memoir includes a robust defense of abortion rights, an issue her husband Donald Trump has repeatedly raised during his presidential campaign, left little impression on people on both sides of the issue.

“Restricting a woman’s right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body,” Melania Trump wrote in her memoir. “I have carried this belief with me throughout my adult life.”

Melania Trump also defended the right to abortion later in pregnancy – a procedure her husband has repeatedly demonized. (Less than 1% of abortions occur at or after 21 weeks of pregnancy.)

“Unfortunately for women across America, Ms. Trump’s husband completely disagrees with her and is the reason more than one in three American women are living under a Trump abortion ban that threatens their health, their freedom and their lives,” Harris campaign spokeswoman Sarafina told Chitika in an email. “Donald Trump has made it clear: If he wins in November, he will ban abortions nationwide, penalize women and restrict women’s access to reproductive health care.”

Melania Trump’s comments also surprised anti-abortion activists.

“It is difficult to follow the logic of publishing the former first lady’s book just before the election and thereby undermining President Trump’s message to pro-life voters,” wrote Kristan Hawkins, president of the powerful Students for Life of America, on Twitter/X Night on Wednesday. “What a waste of momentum.”

In recent weeks, anti-abortion activists have become increasingly fed up with the former president, who, along with the rest of the Republican Party, has struggled to redefine his message on abortion rights amid outrage over the overturning of the Roe v. Wade ruling.

Early in his campaign, Trump boasted about appointing three U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe and described himself as “the most pro-life president ever.” However, after Kamala Harris became the presidential candidate, Trump promised that his administration “will be great for women and their reproductive rights” and vowed not to sign a nationwide abortion ban – just weeks after he refused to say he would veto it would insert.

Melania Trump’s comments could feel like another insult to abortion opponents who feel let down by Trump, Republican campaign strategist Liz Mair said, adding that abortion opponents run effective get-out-the-vote campaigns. These advocates were key to Trump’s victory in 2016.

“This could be just another thing that makes activists think, ‘I just can’t deal with this guy.’ Many of them were individual voters anyway,” said Mair. “He doesn’t really give them much incentive to show up and do something for his benefit.”

When Tresa Undem, a pollster who has been surveying people about abortion for more than two decades, heard the comments, she immediately thought, “Wow.” Then she thought, “This is a campaign move.”

However, Undem isn’t sure who exactly the move is aimed at – especially given the Trumps’ sometimes frosty relationship with the public. Melania Trump has rarely expressed her political views and has largely disappeared from Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.

The likelihood that Melania Trump’s comments will comfort moderate or conservative voters who support abortion rights are “pretty slim,” Undem said.

“These strong feelings – they didn’t suddenly appear this year, did they? So she clearly had no influence on him when it came to abortion policy,” Undem said. “I don’t think she was ever given any political position, weight or influence over Trump or that voters ever think of her.”