Donald Trump on Melania Trump's abortion comments: 'You have to write what you believe'

WASHINGTON - Former President Donald Trump addressed former First Lady Melania Trump’s abortion comments in her upcoming memoir, saying in an interview that he encouraged his wife to write what she believes.

His remarks come after the Guardian reported that Melania Trump defended abortion rights and wrote that the government should not interfere in a woman’s right to choose in her book Melania, which will be released Oct. 8.

Her views differ from those of Donald Trump, who has celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade and argued abortion legislation should be left up to the states.

“We spoke about it. And I said, you have to write what you believe. I’m not going to tell what you to do. You have to write what you believe,” Donald Trump told Fox News Channel’s Bill Melugin on Thursday.

“She’s very beloved. People love our former first lady, I can tell you that. But I said you have to stick with your heart. I’ve said that to everybody, you have to go with your heart,” he added.

Melania Trump wrote in her memoir that “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,” according to the Guardian.

“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,” she wrote.

Republicans have struggled to find a consensus on the issue of abortion as multiple polls have found broad support for reproductive rights among voters. Donald Trump said earlier this week he would veto a federal abortion ban if it came to his desk as president.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says he told Melania to write what she believes in memoir