Vice President Kamala Harris was able to change the race for president in the past two months. Since she replaced President Joe Biden on the ticket, she has run a near-perfect campaign.
This has put former President Donald Trump on defense with little room to maneuver. One of the issues that help Harris is abortion.
According to polls, voters trust her more on the matter than Mr. Trump. Abortion also helps explain the wide gender gap. Harris has a big lead with female voters.
The Trump campaign is doing everything possible to shrink the difference. Ohio VP nominee Senator JD Vance tried to hit a softer note during his debate with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
However, many observers did not think this was enough to change the conversation, especially without a change in policy. Former first lady Melania Trump is now joining the fray.
Mrs. Trump has come out as pro-choice with the release of her new book. She said in a promotional video that was released on Thursday: “Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard. Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth: individual freedom. What does ‘my body, my choice’ really mean?”
For Mr. Trump, there is no dissonance between his pro-life position and the words of his wife. He said in an interview: “I said, ‘You have to stick with your heart.'” I’ve said that to everybody, ‘You have to go with your heart.’ There are some people that are very, very far right on the issue, meaning without exceptions, and then there are other people who view it a little bit differently than that. I’m not going to tell you what to do.”
Some believe that the Republican politician is using his wife’s stance to convince voters that he will not be extreme on abortion. Moreover, the former model is grabbing a lot of headlines with her statement.
That could be enough to blur the line on the topic with some voters. However, Democrats are trying to remind the country that Trump, during his first term in office, placed judges on the Supreme Court who then voted to end Roe v. Wade.
The former reality star has always said that he was very proud of this accomplishment. In about one month, the election will reveal if the Trumps were able to reverse opinions on abortion.
