A reporter known for having sources embedded deep in Donald Trump’s orbit said Friday she believes the former president “would welcome” his wife’s newly revealed stance in favor of abortion rights.
Maggie Haberman, of The New York Times, said on the paper’s The Daily podcast that Melania Trump taking a public stance as bold as being in favor of abortion rights while married to Trump would “make him happy.”
“I think there is a world in which this is not a hidden attempt to try to soften him,” Haberman said. “Although I imagine that he would welcome that and would make him happy, and it was simply a way for her to get her thoughts out and get attention.”
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Melania Trump’s comments about abortion were revealed Thursday when The Guardian published excerpts of her soon-to-be released memoir, Melania.
Melania Trump had previously not spoken out about her beliefs on abortion, including while she was First Lady.
Reuters“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 first lady wrote.
She added: “Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes. Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body. I have carried this belief with me throughout my entire adult life.”
Melania Trump’s stance on abortion puts her in direct conflict with that of her husband, who’s long championed that he appointed the right-wing Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and ended nationwide access to abortion.
Trump meanwhile, has not made any efforts to distance himself from his wife’s beliefs too vigorously. Asked about her stance on abortion, he told Fox News on Thursday night that he urged her to write from the heart.
“We spoke about it, and I said, ‘You have to write what you believe,’” Trump said. “‘I’m not going to tell you what to do. You have to write what you believe.’”
The ex-president added that his wife, who’s been notably absent on the campaign trail this election cycle, is “very beloved.”
“People love our former first lady, I can tell you that,” he said.
Whether Melania Trump has enough sway in her hubby’s decision-making to make him relent on his anti-abortion policies—like leaving it up to the states, which many have shown are willing to outright ban abortion under all circumstances—remains to be seen.
While she wrote that she’s held her beliefs on abortion her entire adult life, she’d previously been mum on the issue—something Haberman noted in Friday’s podcast.
“It is not something that former White House advisers remember her talking about in either direction, pro or con,” Haberman said. “Abortion rights was not exactly a small issue when he was in office. He was in the middle of appointing this conservative super majority of the Supreme Court… that repealed the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision from 1973 and she is apparently against it, and her husband is still struggling mightily with how to articulate what he actually thinks on abortion, while also saying that he terminated Roe v. Wade, and he’s very proud of it. So I don’t know how these two things align or how voters will receive it.”
