Melania Trump Smiled As Reporter Shouted Question About Whether Donald Trump, Jr. Is Lying
As Donald and Melania Trump were spotted outside the White House on Friday while preparing for a weekend trip to New Jersey, some observers noticed the first lady apparently smiling when a reporter asked her husband about his son, Donald Trump, Jr., and his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
According to Yahoo Lifestyle, the curious observation took place on Friday when Trump and Melania were walking to Marine One at the White House’s South Lawn, as they prepared to make their fourth New Jersey trip in five weeks. The nature of the reporter’s question was not specified, but based on recent events, she may have been asking about the president’s controversial June, 2016, meeting with Russian officials at Trump Tower.
“Mr. President, sir, is Michael Cohen lying? Sir, is your son lying? Mr. President will you speak with us about your former lawyer?” the reporter asked.
Yahoo Lifestyle noted that Melania Trump appeared “unbothered” by the directness of the unidentified journalist’s questions. Instead, she reportedly flashed a smile at the reporter and kept on walking.
As speculated by CNN, Donald Trump, Jr., who organized the logistics of the Trump Tower meeting and approved its participants, might be charged with perjury if Michael Cohen can provide evidence that the president had advance knowledge of the meeting. These are claims that the elder Trump has consistently denied to the press and to the public, but not under oath or during questioning from federal investigators, CNN added.
“Under the circumstances, if Cohen’s claim is corroborated — a big ‘if’ — this may be a reprehensible lie, but it’s not necessarily criminal. Still, it is so serious that it could theoretically give special counsel Robert Mueller the leverage to propose a deal: Resign the presidency in exchange for immunity for Don, Jr.,” CNN legal analyst Paul Callan wrote on Saturday.
Melania Trump’s Press Strategy Is Looking More And More Like Her Husband’s https://t.co/QnJcpJyddb
— patty bray, (@patty_bray) July 28, 2018
If Trump does not resign as president in the theoretical scenario mentioned above, Callan warned that Donald Trump, Jr. could potentially serve time in prison for lying to the Senate Judiciary Committee about not informing his father about the meeting.
With the continued attention surrounding the Trump Tower meeting in mind, Instagram users commenting on a clip of the reporter’s encounter with Donald and Melania Trump were mostly impressed with the first lady’s “poise and commitment,” Yahoo Lifestyle wrote. One user criticized the female reporter for being “ruthless” and for disrespecting Melania through her aggressive questioning, while others made remarks about Melania’s appearance, suggesting that she looks noticeably different after undergoing a kidney procedure in May.
