Twitter Has Some Thoughts About Melania Trump Saying Kids Should Be Kept Out Of Politics
Melania Trump doesn’t typically get involved in politics, but after one witness who testified in Wednesday’s impeachment hearings invoked her and Donald Trump’s son Barron Trump, the first lady took to social media to admonish the Stanford professor for bringing her child into the impeachment process. While professor Pamela Karlan has since apologized for speaking about Barron, Twitter wasn’t so sympathetic to Melania’s concerns.
Karlan referred to the 13-year-old Trump on Wednesday, December 4, while comparing the president’s behavior to that of a king.
“A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics,” Melania said in response. “Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it.”
Other White House officials also took issue with Karlan’s reference, echoing the first lady’s concern, as did Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.
But as Newsweek reports, social media users across the spectrum found their comments to be hypocritical.
Jon Cooper, the chairman of the Dem Coalition, called out the first lady’s tweet, saying it was clear that not only did she not write it, but that she was using her own son to score political points.
Joe Lockhart, a CNN political analyst, pointed out that the Trump administration had locked up children who crossed the border.
Bill Prady, who produced The Big Bang Theory, was less conciliatory.
“I know you are very busy preparing for the press conference you promised to give about your immigration status, but let me advise you that a bad pun involving a child’s name will not harm him,” he wrote. “Tearing a child from his mother’s arms, as your husband did, will.”
“Melania demands tears for Barron but not for the children separated from their families and left to die in cages,” wrote filmmaker and activist Bree Newsome Bass.
Thousands of other Twitter users created posts with the hashtag #fakeoutrage to call out Melania’s comments. In addition to the Trump administration’s decision to separate children from their parents at the border, the posts called out the president’s comments about 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, the Swedish activist who has been vocally fighting against climate change in recent months.
Fred Guttenberg pointed out that Trump politicized the murder of his daughter and re-tweeted a conspiracy that she was killed as a result of the Russia investigation.
The White House has so far not commented on the controversy. Karlan has issued an apology, saying that she wishes the president had also apologized, but she was sorry for bringing Barron into the conversation.
The LOONEY LIBERALS are mad that she apologized for attacking #BarronTrump
THIS IS NOT A REAL APOLOGY
Pamela Karlan & the Democrats should not have dragged a 13 year old into politics!
This is not #FakeOutrage This is real outrage! Leave kids alone
— Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) December 5, 2019
