First Lady Melania Trump has issued a statement attacking the anonymous author – an unnamed senior White House official – of a damning New York Times op-ed that brutally scorches President Trump. In her remarks she also defends the First Amendment – but not at any point does she defend her husband.
“Freedom of speech is an important pillar of our nation’s founding principles and a free press is important to our democracy. The press should be fair, unbiased and responsible,” her statement begins.
“Unidentified sources have become the majority of the voices people hear about in today’s news,” it continues. “People with no names are writing our nation’s history. Words are important, and accusations can lead to severe consequences.”
“If a person is bold enough to accuse people of negative actions, they have a responsibility to publicly stand by their words and people have the right to be able to defend themselves.”
“To the writer of the op-ed — you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions,” the statement ends.
The First Lady did not defend her husband, the president. Nor did she refute or push back on any of the allegations in the op-ed.
Among them:
“The root of the problem is the president’s amorality. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making.”
“In addition to his mass-marketing of the notion that the press is the ‘enemy of the people,’ President Trump’s impulses are generally anti-trade and anti-democratic.”
“Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.”
“President Trump shows a preference for autocrats and dictators.”
And more.