Melania Trump has been almost invisible in the media during her husband's current campaign to take back the White House. It's not unfair to say that she has been avoiding the spotlight as much as possible, leaving some observers to wonder whether anything might be amiss in their relationship.
But that situation has been changing with the approach of the release of her new memoir titled, "Melania," which is scheduled to go on sale next week. The publishers have been releasing teasers from the book to increase interest in it (and sales, of course) and one of the latest already has tongues wagging in political circles.
In the book, Melania Trump comes out strongly in favor of preserving women's right to have access to abortions across the board. This is at least partially in conflict with her husband's own position on the subject, no doubt making for some awkward dinner conversations at Trump Tower.
From the LA Times:
Former First Lady Melania Trump offered a passionate defense of a woman’s right to abortion, including in the late stages of pregnancy — a direct contradiction of the views of her husband, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, according to excerpts of her memoir that is scheduled to be released next week.“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,” the former president’s wife writes in “Melania,” according to a report published by the Guardian on Wednesday.Melania Trump’s comments are a political bombshell coming in the final weeks of a presidential campaign in which Donald Trump’s threats to women’s reproductive rights have played a central role.
This isn't Melania Trump's first foray into the left-leaning side of this divisive issue. She recently hosted a fundraiser at Trump Tower for the pro-LGBTQ+ Log Cabin Republicans. She has also spoken at a number of events hosted by pro-women's rights groups.
Some of the quotes from the book could have been lifted word-for-word from any of a number of pro-abortion women's groups around the country. Those include the following unambiguous declaration: “Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body.” You can agree or disagree with that observation as you see fit, but it really doesn't leave much of a gray area to debate what she meant to say. Then again, Melania was never known for being a fire-breathing, right-wing conservative prior to her marriage to Donald Trump.
For his part, Donald Trump has been walking a bit of a tightrope on the issue. He has fully endorsed the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson, returning decisions about abortion access to the states. After a bit of prodding, he recently stated that he would veto any effort to pass a federal ban on abortions while endorsing the rights of voters in the individual states to decide for themselves.
This revelation simply throws another log on a fire that has already been blazing inside of the GOP. It remains a powerful talking point for Democrats and could potentially undermine the slender margin of victory that Donald Trump is trying to hold together in several swing states, particularly among female voters. The reality is that this has suddenly become just the sort of weapon that the Democrats had been seeking. They hold a distinct advantage in the polls, where strict limits on abortion access, even at the state level are favored only by a minority of voters.
While it remains true that the First Lady has no direct role in the passage of legislation, few people have the President's ear to the degree that the First Lady (or First Gentleman) does. Will that be enough to sway this election back in Kamala Harris' favor? We won't have to wait long to find out.
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