Column: Melania Trump supports abortion rights. Her husband doesn’t. Will he get her vote?

It pays to listen to women.

Republicans have repeatedly ignored that adage, as evident in their demolition of Roe vs. Wade, opposition to IVF and contraception, and derogatory comments about “childless cat ladies” and “women past 50.”

Thursday morning delivered the biggest indicator yet that the MAGA party is losing female voters by the minute when former First Lady Melania Trump delivered a vehemently pro-choice message on her X account.

“Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard,” she said in the video meant to publicize her new memoir, scheduled for release on Tuesday. “Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth, individual freedom. What does my body, my choice really mean?” At the end of the 28-second ad, viewers see an image of the book’s cover and the option to “order now” from her website.

So she won’t be voting for her husband?

It would appear so, given that her comments, delivered just one month before the election, run in direct opposition to former President Trump’s crowning achievement: ending the constitutional right to abortion. Twenty states ban abortion or restrict the procedure earlier in pregnancy since the Supreme Court (tipped to the far right by Trump’s appointment of three justices) overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022.

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Despite recent backpedaling, Trump has taken credit for toppling Roe vs. Wade, and a cornerstone of his 2024 platform is restricting women’s reproductive rights. As for what comes next in the lives of women forced to give birth, Trump has no discernible plan — not even a concept of a plan — for child care.

Melania’s rogue stance on a woman’s right to choose may prove to be the biggest blow yet to the MAGA party that’s struggled to win back female voters. Poll after poll shows a loss in support from women, as well as moderate and independent voters.

A recent NBC News national poll found a majority of voters (54%) said the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, would better deal with the issue of abortion, while 33% said the same of Trump. Overall, Harris has an “off-the-charts,” 21-point lead with female voters. And according to a New York Times poll, abortion has overtaken the economy as the single most important issue for women younger than 45.

No wonder Republicans, Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, are scrambling to soften their post-Roe messaging.

During Tuesday’s vice presidential debate between Vance and Democratic candidate Tim Walz, Vance lied and said he’d never been in favor of a national abortion ban. In an effort to promote a kinder, gentler version of the Republican Party, he said, “My party, we’ve got to do so much better of a job at earning the American people’s trust back on this issue where they, frankly, just don’t trust us. That’s one of the things that Donald Trump and I are endeavoring to do.”

Ms. Trump apparently didn’t get the memo. Or didn’t watch that debate.

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On Wednesday evening, the British news site the Guardian published excerpts from her new memoir, “Melania,” with this bombshell: “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.”

Trump recently cast himself as a “protector” of women, saying at a rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania that he will save them from even having to think about having an abortion. “You will no longer be abandoned, lonely or scared. You will no longer be in danger. ... You will no longer have anxiety from all of the problems our country has today,” Trump said. “You will be protected, and I will be your protector.”

Seems Melania can protect, and advocate for, herself, thanks.

But are her sentiments genuine? Many a conspiracy theorist may wonder if this is a part of a calculated scheme, cooked up years in advance in the Mar-a-Lago Situation Room (aka the document-storage bathroom), to make MAGA appear more in touch with the feminine view. It’s possible, but unlikely. Planning, after all, requires stability.

Let’s suppose Melania is a warrior for women’s rights and she’s not trying to cash in controversy for book sales. Imagine the tension around the family dinner table, assuming they’ve dined together, let alone spent time in the same room, over the last eight years. It would explain the tension captured in photos from their rare and uncomfortable outings together in public. Melania looks like she’d rather be stuck in Ross Dress for Less than standing next to him.

In his presidential debate against Harris last month, Trump would not say whether he supported a national ban on abortion. But on Wednesday, he doubled down on the backpedal, posting an ALL-CAPS declaration across social media platforms: “Everyone knows I would not support a federal abortion ban, under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it, because it is up to the states to decide based on the will of their voters (the will of the people!).”

Melania isn’t willing to stand idly by as her husband flip-flops for votes. As the long-suffering spouse of The Donald, she has taken a stand.

Is it weird? Absolutely. Chalk it up to one more bizarre twist in an election season full of hairpin turns. Or call it what it is: an internal breach in MAGA’s war against women.