Media personality and co-host of “The View,” Joy Behar, shared last week that she doesn’t buy Melania Trump’s stance on abortion, saying it was a “big scam.”
It was revealed last week in a promotional video shared to social media and reports from media outlets that received an advanced copy of her forthcoming memoir that the former first lady views abortion as a “fundamental principle.”
“Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard. Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to these essential rights that all women possess from birth. Individual freedom. What does ‘my body, my choice’ really mean?” Melania Trump said.
Despite the support for abortion, Behar said during an episode of her show that she thinks it’s “just a big lie,” telling those on the show, “I don’t buy it.”
“Sixty-two percent of Americans oppose overthrowing Roe v. Wade, 62 percent, the Republican Party knows this. I think they put her up to this. I think it’s a big scam. They put her out there, you know, as the face of, like, the American population that wants to have abortion rights,” Behar stated.
Sunny Hostin, one of the show’s co-hosts, then said that she thinks Melania Trump’s recent public support for abortion was her effort to try and undermine former President Donald Trump.
“I really think that this is her way of undercutting his bid for the presidency because then she doesn’t have to deal with him anymore,” Hostin said. “I think that she wants to take him out, and she’s doing a pretty damn good job with that.”
In her book, which is expected to be released this week, the former first lady writes that it is “imperative” that women have “autonomy in deciding their preference of having children.”
“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 wrote. “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.”
The remarks come as Trump and his vice presidential pick, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), have looked to soften their stance on abortion, with Vance saying in an interview last month that Trump would not sign a federal abortion ban if he was re-elected.
Trump, who has taken credit for the Dobbs decision, which saw federal abortion protections removed with the overturning of Roe v Wade, has also said he thinks it’s a state’s rights issue, not a federal issue.
As for his wife’s views, Trump said during a Fox News interview on Thursday that he was aware of her beliefs and what she was making known in her new memoir.
“We spoke about it. And I said, you have to write what you believe,” Trump said. “I’m not going to tell you what to do. You have to write what you believe.”