MElania Trump has made her support for abortion rights the focus of her upcoming memoir — you might even call it the newswire. This has confused some observers. “It is difficult to follow the logic of releasing the former First Lady’s book just before the election, undermining President Trump’s message to pro-life voters.” wrote one anti-abortion activistKristen Hawkins.
Donald Trump, meanwhile, remains where he was on this issue, which is… well, where is he exactly? He wants credit for overturning Roe v Wade — and probably deserves it, since he appointed the far-right justices whose views were decisive. But he also wants the issue of reproductive rights to stop fueling Kamala Harris’ campaign.
Last week he posted his scariest message yet on social media, not just because it was all in caps: “WOMEN WILL BE HAPPY, HEALTHY, CONFIDENT AND FREE! YOU WILL NO LONGER THINK ABOUT ABORTION BECAUSE IT IS NOW WHERE IT ALWAYS SHOULD BE, WITH THE STATES.” Does it sound a bit like he thinks the presidency will give him hypnotic powers, allowing him to worm his way into women’s minds and decide what they think about? Or am I paranoid?
I’d say Melania’s logic is easy to follow: she supports women’s right to choose; she values her right to her own opinion more than any appearance of unity with her husband; and she doesn’t really care if he loses the election.
Donald’s logic is impossible to follow at the level of the sentence. He can’t say that reliably what condition he is inor which candidate he is running against. He will think about immigration and land it miles away, about the merits of his own body and how much more beautiful it is than Joe Biden’s. The real damage Melania has done isn’t that she disagreed with Donald on principle; it’s that, by saying something rational, she’s invited you to imagine their home life – him rambling about sharks, she tuning him out, possibly with noise-canceling headphones.
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