Trump breaks silence on Melania abortion dispute: 'I'm not going to tell you what to do'

Donald Trump has broken his silence about his apparent dispute with wife Melania Trump over abortion rights, insisting he told her: “I'm not going to tell you what to do.”

In her upcoming memoir, as well as in a video out this week

On Thursday, the former president — who admitted he didn't read his wife's book at a campaign rally last month — was asked about their differences.

“We talked 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 down what you believe in,” Trump told Fox News’ Bill Melugin.

“But I said you have to stay with your heart. I told everyone: you have to go with your heart.”

After being noticeably absent from Trump's campaign this campaign, the former first lady has returned to the spotlight in recent days to promote her new book Melania.

In an excerpt from the memoirs of The Guardian, Melania writes about her belief that a woman “should be given the power to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.”

“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to decide what she does with her own body?” she writes.

“A woman’s fundamental right to individual freedom and her own life gives her the power to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.”

She continues: “Restricting a woman's right to decide 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 adult life .”

In a promotional video Melania She said Thursday that “individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I protect,” adding that “there is no room for compromise” when it comes to abortion rights.

Trump, meanwhile, has previously bragged about his role in the Supreme Court overturning the ruling Roe v. Wadethereby ending nationwide access to abortion.

At the presidential debate last month, when the two candidates were questioned on the central election issue, Trump also falsely claimed that Democrats support abortion “after birth” and the “execution” of babies.

After this week's VP debate, Trump claimed he would veto a federal abortion ban after previously refusing to directly answer the question.

“Everyone knows that I would not support a federal abortion ban under any circumstances and would even veto it because it is up to the states to decide based on the will of their voters (the will of the people!). “Wrote Trump on X on Wednesday.

“Like Ronald Reagan before me, I fully support the three exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.”

On Tuesday, Melania told Fox News' Sean Hannity in a rare interview that she and her husband sometimes have “political disagreements.”

Her pro-choice comments have since sparked a backlash from anti-abortion groups.

On Thursday, the head of the national abortion group SBA Pro-Life America, Kristan Hawkins, called Melania's support for abortion rights “wrong” and condemned her views as “anti-feminist” and anti-Catholic.

“I won’t buy her book,” she added.

However, Hawkins admitted that it was her prerogative to “defeat Kamala Harris.”