First Lady Melania Trump‘s Monday statement addressing the Capitol riot has landed her in the center of controversy. Titled “Our Path Forward,” the lengthy message marked the first lady’s first public remarks since a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol five days earlier, and while Trump said she is “disappointed and disheartened” by the deadly riot, her words were met with little fanfare.
Shared on the White House website early Monday morning, the letter began with Trump offering condolences for the six people who were present at the riot and lost their lives. She then went on to lash out at those who have used the Capitol riot to spread “salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks and false and misleading accusations about me.” She did not specify what this comment was in reference to. The first lady also wrote, “I absolutely condemn the violence that has occurred on our Nation’s Capitol. Violence is never acceptable.”
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“I would like to call on the citizens of this country to take a moment, pause, and look at things from all perspective,” she wrote in part. “I implore people to stop the violence, never make assumptions based on the color of a person’s skin or use differing political ideologies as a basis for aggression and viciousness. We must listen to one another, focus on what unites us, and rise above what divides us… Our path forward is to come together, find our commonalities, and be the kind and strong people that I know we are.”
For many, though, the statement did little to calm the tensions and encourage peace, with backlash quickly rising online. Many took issue with what they viewed as the first lady making herself out to be “the biggest victim,” while others condemned the way in which she listed the names of those who died during the riot, the first lady having listed the names of the two Capitol Police officers last.
It quite a feat to twist the events of last week’s horrific attack to make oneself the biggest victim. But somehow, Melania Trump found a way.
— Kimberly Atkins (@KimberlyEAtkins) January 11, 2021
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
Wherein five days later @FLOTUS acknowledges what happened, but once against chooses to paint herself as victim. https://t.co/6koReyhcQR
— Kate Bennett (@KateBennett_DC) January 11, 2021
Your first words about Wednesday’s attacks are about what people are saying about you?
— Artie Hartsell (@artiemhartsell) January 11, 2021
Somehow, some way, Melania managed to make herself the victim by the fifth paragraph – BEFORE condemning violence (in the most generic sense) and encouraging people to “look at things from all perspectives.” Wow. What a stunning lack of self-awareness.
— w.f. carolyn (@wfcarolyn) January 11, 2021
Donald Trump first told the insurrectionists “We Love You.”
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) January 11, 2021
Now, Melania Trump releases a statement praising “Most recently, my heart goes out to: Air Force Veteran, Ashli Babbit.”
Babbit was the insurrectionist killed while storming the Capitol to kill members of Congress.😳
Melania Trump, who wore a jacket saying she “didn’t care” to the border crisis, and who was overseeing a photo shoot of the rugs at the White House during her husband’s coup, is now saying she “implore[s] people to stop the violence.”
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) January 11, 2021
What a joke. pic.twitter.com/epwpCSShHI
USA … Today’s letter (fragment) by Melania Trump. My observations:
— Alfonso Rodriguez (@BraveNewWorld57) January 11, 2021
– The letter is equally sympathetic to friends and foes of our democracy.
– The letter is not representing the couple just her.
– The ultimate concern is what people think and say about her.
UN (FUCKING) REAL! pic.twitter.com/wvtF9f5wrh
I can’t believe
— DeeJay (@ZeroQuarksGiven) January 11, 2021
1. That you nane the insurrectionists as people ” your heart goes out to,” and
2. That you say their names before the police officers who died.
Melania Trump’s good-people-on-both-sides letter to the American people https://t.co/FXPJIFKsJ0
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) January 11, 2021
In a statement, the First Lady expresses sympathy for slain rioters, as well as slain police officers, in the same sentence. She then spends a paragraph speaking up for another victim: herself. https://t.co/8xBdlrAo4T
— Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) January 11, 2021
Melania Trump makes the Trump insurrection about her, talking about how shameful the personal attacks have been on her. She is just like her husband. https://t.co/fn9UXErXq3
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) January 11, 2021
Melania Trump says now is a time to focus on “healing” the country… Are you kidding me? You can’t shoot a person and go, “Your Honor, why are we focusing on me? We should place our attention on the gunshot wound. The bandages and the stitches are what’s important right now”…
— Cyrus McQueen (@CyrusMMcQueen) January 11, 2021
Melania Trump also misspells the last name of Ashli Babbitt, even as she says “my heart goes out to” her, listing her before either of the USCP police officers who lost their lives https://t.co/F4kTHCnetI
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) January 11, 2021
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