Melania Trump Says Donald Trump 'Knew My Position and My Beliefs' on Abortion 'Since the Day We Met'

Mar. 15, 2025

From Left: Melania Trump with Donald Trump on April 6, 2024.Photo:Alon Skuy/Getty

Alon Skuy/Getty

Melania Trumpsaid in an interview released over the weekend that her husband,Donald Trump, has known abouther position on abortion rights“since the day we met.”

“He knew my position and my beliefs since the day we met, and I believe in individual freedom,” the former first lady, 54, said inan interviewthat aired Sunday, Oct. 6 on Fox News’Sunday Morning Futures. “I want to decide what I want to do with my body. I think, I don’t want government in my personal business.”

“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,” Melania writes in the book, according toThe Guardian, which obtained a copy.

“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,” she continues.

In response to questions about the timing of her position being announced just weeks before the 2024 presidential election, Melania toldSunday Morning Futuresit was not “written in the last week or the last month.”

“That book was written months before, and it was in print months before,” she continued. “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.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The former first lady’s stance on abortion is at odds with the political accomplishments of her husband, who previously boasted that he’s “proud to be the most pro-life president in American history.”

Donald, 78, said in a 1999 interview that he considered himself “pro-choice in every aspect,” but when he sought the presidency in 2016, herebranded himself as “pro-life"on the campaign trail and called to “ban” abortions and punish women who get them. (He later redirected his ire at the doctors who perform abortions.)

Last month, Trump suggested on hisTruth Socialplatform that reproductive rights will be a topic of the past if he’s elected, telling women that their current lives are “miserable.”

“I will fix all of that, and fast, and at long last this national nightmare will be over,” Trump said in the Sept. 20 post. “Women will be happy, healthy, confident and free!You will no longer be thinking about abortion, because it is now where it always had to be, with the States, and a vote of the people.”

source: people.com