In a calculated declaration and eagerly awaited memoir due on Tuesday, former U.S. first lady Melania Trump has taken on the very architect overturning Roe v. Wade. A month shy of the most controversial presidential election in the nation’s history, the former first lady writes: “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.” The former first lady opines:

A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty grants her the authority over her own body. Restricting a woman’s right to choose if or whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy eviscerates that liberty.

In 2022, a U.S. supreme court landmark decision ruled that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), returning the power to regulate any aspect of abortion to state legislatures. A subject heretofore considered taboo, support for legal abortion access became a talking point in the decision's aftermath and tipping point in Election 2024.

Trump Abortion Ban

Trump says that he'll veto a national abortion ban, if elected. He declares on Truth Social: "Everyone knows I would not support a federal abortion ban, under any circumstances, and, would, in fact, veto it, because it is up to the states to decide based on the will of their voters."

However, it was candidate Donald Trump of 2016 that made a rather different promise to voters in his third debate with Hillary Clinton:

Roe can be overturned if we can change the balance on the court. If we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that will happen. And that will happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court.

While President Trump vowed not to raise the issue with prospective nominees, it was a point of contention within his own marriage. The former first lady writes in "Melania:"

“Occasional political disagreements between me and my husband are part of our relationship, but I believe in addressing them privately rather than publicly challenging him.” Yet there in black and white in the pages of “Melania” she lays bare her views on abortion and reproductive rights. Views diametrically opposed to the Republican party at large.

Melania Trump says her beliefs about abortion rights spring from “a core set of principles” at the heart of which lies “individual liberty” and what she calls “personal freedom” on which there is “no room for negotiation.”

After outlining her political support for abortion rights, she adds that “timing matters” by detailing what she calls some of the “legitimate reasons for a woman to choose to have an abortion, including: danger to the life of the mother, incest, congenital birth defects, rape, and severe medical conditions.”

More than 90% of US abortions occur at or before 13 weeks of gestation, according to data from the CDC. Less than 1% of abortions take place at anytime thereafter. The former first lady continues:

“When confronted with an unexpected pregnancy, young women frequently experience feelings of isolation and significant stress. I, like most Americans, am in favor of the requirement that juveniles obtain parental consent before undergoing an abortion. I realize this may not always be possible. Our next generation must be provided with knowledge, security, safety and solace so the cultural stigma associated with abortion can be lifted."

Finally, Melania Trump offers an expression of solidarity with protesters for reproductive rights. “The slogan ‘My Body, My Choice’ is typically associated with the Pro-Choice side of the debate,” she writes. “The Pro-Life side of this very argument can and should include her own.”

Rose Garden

Since leaving Washington in 2021, nothing has caught former first lady Melania Trump's ire more than her renovation of the White House Rose Garden. Historian and author Michael Beschloss tweets: “Evisceration of the White House Rose Garden was complete and here was the grim result – decades of American history and tradition disappeared.” The following day, Melania Trump replied, “the American people deserve some honesty.”

In 1902, first lady Edith Roosevelt established a "proper colonial garden" in place of the conservatory; “The White House Rose Garden” was established in 1913 by then first lady Ellen Wilson; and redesigned once again in 1935 by Eleanore Roosevelt. But it wasn’t until 1961, following President John F. Kennedy’s historic trip to Paris, that first lady Jacqueline Kennedy envisioned a formal french garden. A principle of imposing order on nature.

Decades had further eroded the White House Rose Garden’s improperly installed irrigation system; gnarled subterranean roots systems resulted in a constant replacement of trees; and bushes and plantings and blight were rampant and irreversible, according to a 200-plus page report commissioned by the Committee for the Preservation of the White House.

Like so many who fancy a crowd-pleasing abundance of tulips or seasonal perennials to showcase America’s most historically fabled garden, the White House Rose Garden renovation was controversial and often described as "sterile, bland, and devoid of any joy.” Yes, the Rose Garden did look bare in its initial unveiling at the August 2020 Republican National Convention held in the Rose Garden. Eerily, rather similar to its dedication in 1913.

Historically, the garden had existed under glass; a day and time when grand conservatories and year round blooms were merely ornamental to the architecture. “It's technically impossible for roses to survive the heat and humidity of a Washington DC summer,” observed first lady Ellen Wilson when she dedicated the first open air rose garden at the White House.

A century on, first lady Melania Trump's stated and principle goal for the Rose Garden’s renovation was to “fulfill the dynamic needs of the modern presidency” by integrating the garden's irrigation system with the White House; installing state of the art sound and audiovisual technologies; and a new limestone 36” inch walkway that complies with The Americans with Disabilities Act has replaced the handsome approach once called the "President's Walk."

The White House Rose Garden's redesign began with research; commenced as a historical restoration project; was completed in service to the people of the United States; and commemorates from age to age that "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is the very essence of the American spirit.