Melania Trump believed that the migrant children being held in detention centers through her husband’s family separation policy were treated “nicely” and were happy with the accommodations after the grueling trips they had endured to get there, according to a former friend.
The first lady’s feelings about her husband’s controversial policy are part of a soon-to-be-released tell-all book from her former friend and adviser, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff. The memoir, titled Melania & Me , reportedly reveals Trump’s true feelings about the policy.
As People magazine noted, Wolkoff claimed that Trump was upset at the harsh reactions from media and thought that they didn’t understand the true nature of the detention centers. She wrote that Trump claimed that critics “don’t know what’s going on,” and that the children put into the camps had been brought into the United States by human traffickers, whom she called “bad people.” She believed the centers were better places for them.
“They’re not with their parents, and it’s sad,” Trump reportedly said. “But the patrols told me the kids say, ‘Wow, I get a bed? I will have a cabinet for my clothes?’ It’s more than they have in their own country where they sleep on the floor. They are taking care nicely there.”
The president’s family separation policy called for all children, including those with their parents, to be taken and put into camps after crossing the U.S. border.
The former adviser added that Trump believed there was a double standard at play as well, as she complained that Michelle Obama had never gone to the border for a visit.
Wolkoff also sounded off about the controversy Trump stoked by wearing a jacket with the words “I REALLY DON’T CARE. DO U?” while going on a visit to a detention center in McAllen, Texas. Trump allegedly noted how the incident drove liberal media crazy — and she didn’t care.
“You know what? They deserve it,” she reportedly said.
After initially denying that the jacket had any kind of larger message, Trump later said that it was meant as a message to the media.
“It was kind of a message,” she told ABC News, as quoted by People . “I would prefer that they would focus on what I do and my initiatives, than what I wear.”
The quote also appeared to hint at the criticism aimed at the first lady’s “Be Best” campaign, which focuses on promoting wellness and healthy internet habits for kids. Critics said that Trump failed to rein in her husband’s perceived online bullying, and saw the campaign as misplaced.
