Former First Lady Melania Trump’s defense of abortion rights in her upcoming memoir is stirring conversations about a deeper divide within the Republican Party, according to former GOP strategist Maura Gillespie. Speaking on CNN Thursday morning, Gillespie highlighted that Melania’s stance signals a growing realization among some Republicans that the party has moved away from its core values of individual freedom.
Gillespie, who previously served as a press adviser for former House Speaker John Boehner, emphasized that Melania’s position on abortion rights aligns with the broader conservative principle of personal liberty. “She says, ‘A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes. It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children … free from any intervention or pressure from the government,'” CNN anchor John Berman read from Melania’s forthcoming memoir.
Berman then posed a question about whether this could be a strategic move by Melania, asking, “Okay, 12-dimensional chess here, where you think that Melania Trump is in cahoots with the Trump campaign trying to muddy the waters on abortion, or just something she doesn’t care what her husband thinks about?”
Gillespie argued that this tension isn’t confined to Melania alone—it reflects a broader conflict within the Republican Party, even among its top leaders. “I think that you saw J.D. Vance change his tune at the VP debate, trying to talk about abortion, because if we have to build back trust,” Gillespie said. She pointed out that many women may not trust certain politicians’ positions on abortion, especially when some, like Vance, have previously endorsed national abortion bans.
“What she’s saying here to me, and I’ve long believed, is it is a conservative message to say that you don’t want the federal government telling me, telling you, what you can do with your own body,” Gillespie added. “That goes to a conservative belief of having a smaller, more accountable government. Yet the Republican Party has let it become so much more of a religious issue, feeding into the far-right fringe, as opposed to what most of the country believes, which is the stance that we should have autonomy over our body and medical freedom for half the population.”
As the conversation surrounding abortion rights continues to evolve within the Republican Party, Melania Trump’s memoir may add another layer to the ongoing debate, highlighting the growing divide between conservative ideals of individual freedom and the religious-driven policies pushed by the far-right faction of the party.
