JD Vance reacts to Melania Trump's abortion remarks

Ohio Senator JD Vance told reporters on Friday that former first lady Melania Trump's stance on abortion "doesn't change" the Trump-Vance campaign's message on reproductive rights.

An excerpt from the former first lady's upcoming book, Melania, stunned anti-abortion activists and others earlier this week after it revealed that she unequivocally stands for a woman's right to an abortion—a split from her husband, former President Donald Trump, on a key issue ahead of the November election.

On Friday, Vance, the former president's running mate, was asked at a campaign stop in Lindale, Georgia, if Melania Trump's opinion "impacts" how his campaign sees the issue of reproductive rights.

"Look, I love Melania," Vance told reporters. "I think she's—she's a great wife to the president. She's been, I think, a great example of grace under an incredible amount of pressure. But Melania is entitled to her own views."

Vance added that he doesn't "believe I have to attack or disagree or criticize anybody on this issue because our campaign is focused, again, on inflation, on securing the border, on making life more affordable, on bringing good jobs to the state of Georgia and the whole country."

"Look, I mean, I think she's a smart person," the senator said. "I think she's going to express her views. She's entitled to do it, but it doesn't change how I talk about this issue or how the campaign talks about the issue."

Newsweek reached out to Melania Trump's office via email on Friday afternoon for comment.

The former first lady has been noticeably absent on the campaign trail as her husband vies for a second term in the White House and is often quiet about her political views. But in her memoir, which will be published on October 8, she wrote that it "is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government."

"Restricting a woman's right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body," she wrote in the section reviewed by The Guardian ahead of the book's publication. "I have carried this belief with me throughout my entire adult life."

In contrast, the former president has taken credit for the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, which ended federal protections for abortion in June 2022. The impact has sparked legal battles across the country at the state level. Several key battleground states will vote on abortion referendums in the 2024 general election as well, including Arizona and Nevada.

Democrats have sought to capitalize on the issue ahead of November, given that reproductive rights contributed to surprise losses for Republicans in the 2022 midterms. While Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, has vowed to work to reinstate abortion laws under Roe, Trump's stance has shifted throughout his 2024 campaign, and many Republicans have differing messages on how the federal government should handle the issue.

Earlier this week, during the vice presidential debate between Vance and Harris' running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Trump said on social media that he would "veto" a federal abortion ban "because it is up to the states to decide based on the will of their voters."

It was the first time the former president made a stance on a federal term limit for abortion. In the past, Republicans, including Vance, have expressed support for a "minimum national standard" for the procedure at 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Update 10/4/24, 4:44 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.