Former President Donald Trump is being criticized after responding to his wife’s apparent pro-abortion stance.
“I’m not going to tell you what to do,” he told Melania Trump about abortion.
The statement seemed ironic given his history on the issue, per the HuffPost.
Donald Trump has boasted about his role in Roe v. Wade being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. This led to abortion being banned or restricted in many states.
Donald Trump believes the power to decide abortion rights should fall to the states.
“Oh, so Melanie gets to choose but not millions of other women. Got it,” journalist Jemele Hill wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
In her upcoming memoir, “Melania,” the former first lady wrote 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.”
“Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body.” She said this is a belief she’s had “throughout my entire adult life.”
Many have speculated if this revelation is genuine or a ploy to garner votes from more moderate voters.
Bill Melugin from Fox News asked Donald Trump on Thursday, “What’s your reaction to Melania’s memoir about championing abortion rights and reproductive freedom?”
“We spoke 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,’” he said.
“She’s very beloved. People love our former first lady, I can tell you that,” he said. “But I said, ‘You have to stick with your heart.’ I’ve said that to everybody, ‘You have to go with your heart.’ There are some people that are very, very far right on the issue, meaning without exceptions, and then there are other people who view it a little bit differently than that.”
Some on X pointed out the discrepancy in Donald Trump’s words and the effect of Melania Trump’s stance on the issue.
