A statement the White House released from first lady Melania Trump has sparked swift backlash after she painted herself as a victim of “unwarranted personal attacks” in the wake of the deadly riots at the Capitol in support of her husband.
The first lady said she was “disappointed and disheartened with what happened last week” — seemingly referring to the pro-Trump mob, which threatened to kill the heads of government while clashing with police officers and ransacking the halls and offices of Congress as it convened to certify the 2020 presidential elections.
She then added: “I find it shameful that surrounding these tragic events there has been salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me — from people who are looking to be relevant and have an agenda.”
She was likely referring to an Op-Ed published by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff in the Daily Beast. The former aide to Ms Trump called the violence at the Capitol last week “shocking, awful, disheartening and shameful” — a rare rebuke from a former loyal adviser to the first lady.
But at a moment when the nation’s government appeared to have just narrowly avoided an insurrection, it seemed the last thing anyone wanted to discuss was the first lady’s personal grievances about her former friend and aide.
Quite an official statement from First Lady Melania Trump – typos, deceased rioters’ names listed in the same sentence as Sicknick’s and listed first, complaints about how she is being treated… https://t.co/3XkQgFFJAb pic.twitter.com/C2YI3lvCVL
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 11, 2021
