Former first lady Melania Trump spoke with former President Trump before writing about her support for abortion in her self-titled memoir, she told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.
“He knew my position since the day we met, and I believe in individual freedom. I want to decide what I want to do with my body. I don’t want government in my personal business,” she said in an exclusive “Sunday Morning Futures” interview.
“I think it’s very important and, as I said in the book, and it’s very well explained in the chapter, ‘What does my body, my choice mean?’ because timing really matters and also the restrictions, so I encourage people to read it because we live in a world that everybody should have individual freedom,” she continued.
Trump is promoting her upcoming “Melania” memoir, which disclosed a shocking truth to many of her husband’s supporters regarding her stance on the controversial issue, calling abortion a “fundamental right of individual liberty,” according to a report from last Wednesday.
MELANIA TRUMP’S ABORTION VIEWS IN NEW MEMOIR SPUR OUTRAGE FROM PRO-LIFERS: ‘SHE IS WRONG’
She reportedly 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.”
“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 PRO-CHOICE STAND ISN’T THAT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER REPUBLICAN FIRST LADIES
The revelation ignited a flurry of responses across the political spectrum, with pro-lifers slamming her for the view they argue fails to align with the Catholic faith, to which she subscribes.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America advocacy group, called the view “anti-feminist” and the “opposite of empowerment.”
Others, including Lila Rose and president of pro-life advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Marjorie Dannenfelser, criticized the stance as well.
On the left, “The View” co-host Joy Behar accused Trump of lying about being pro-choice, calling her stance a “big scam.”
Others have posed the question: why make the revelation just before the election?
“That was not written in the last week or the last month,” Trump told Bartiromo.
“That book was written months before, and it was in print months before, 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. I want people to read the book because they could find out a lot of things that were never discussed. I’m very selective in what I do, and when I’m doing interviews or not or where I am or not, and this is my story. This is my perspective and the truth, and there is a lot of misinformation about me and falsehoods written about me, so that book, ‘Melania,’ will bring out my truth.”
Fox News’ Jamie Joseph and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.