Ana Navarro, co-host of The View, slammed Melania Trump after it came out that her upcoming memoir passionately defends women’s right to abortion—in direct contrast to the conservative stance of her husband, former President Donald Trump.
Navarro took to Instagram to post about the revelation from the memoir, aptly titled Melania, which leaked after The Guardian obtained a copy.
Navarro’s caption suggested that rather than being a bold deviation from her husband’s far-right views, Melania Trump’s disclosure was nothing more than a political move meant to bolster Donald Trump’s appeal to women voters ahead of the election.
“Well, well, well. Melania coming out as strongly pro-choice a month before the Election, was not on my bingo card,” she wrote. “Folks don’t fall for it. They know they have a gender gap with women and are trying to have it both ways. Actions speak louder than words. We already know what Trump did. He appointed 3 uber-conservative Justices that over-turned Roe. Women have suffered, even died as a result.”
Navarro, who previously posted nude photos of Melania Trump on her Instagram account in an effort to defend Vice President Kamala Harris from sexist smears, was not present on The View Thursday, but her sentiments were echoed by that show’s hosts.
“I think they put her up to this,” Joy Behar said of Melania Trump’s messaging on the abortion issue, calling the whole thing “a big scam.”
“They put her out there as the face of the American population that wants to have abortion rights and they figure well maybe she’ll talk him into it,” Behar explained. “The only problem is she doesn’t talk to him. It’s another lie, don’t buy it.”
The hosts took turns picking apart the Trumps’ stance on reproductive rights through the years, with varying takes on why Melania Trump would publicly counter the ex-president on the issue. Former Trump White House official Alyssa Farah Griffin said she thinks Melania Trump’s move is “about money,” asking “Who was gonna buy this book outside of MAGA diehards?”
But Sunny Hostin had a notably different take. “I think she hates him,” she said of the former first couple. “She also wants to take him out. She does not want to be the first lady anymore. This is her way of undercutting his bid for the presidency.”
“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,” Melania Trump writes in her book. “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.”
Earlier on Thursday, Melania Trump doubled down, publishing a video of herself on X—in black-and-white and set to dramatic violin music—delivering a monologue about the importance of women being able to make decisions about their bodies.
“Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth: individual freedom,” she says. “What does ‘My Body, My Choice’ really mean?”
Melania Trump has in the past been guarded about her personal political views, but with her memoir set to release this Tuesday—less than a month out from the presidential election—she has become more outspoken.
Her husband has often touted his role in the Supreme Court’s decision to end a constitutional protection for abortion, but on Tuesday said he would veto a federal abortion ban if it crossed his desk as president—putting to rest a question his running mate JD Vance has struggled to answer.
