Melania Trump has commented on a tell-all book about FLOTUS penned by her former senior adviser and friend, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff. In a statement posted on Twitter, the 50-year-old called on the media to report on the US drug crisis and not on "delusional & malicious gossip".
This afternoon I will be hosting a roundtable with some incredible citizens in recovery & the amazing organizations that support them. I encourage the media to focus & report on the nation's drug crisis, not on delusional & malicious gossip.
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) September 3, 2020
This is the first time the first lady has shared her thoughts on the book and the allegations made in it. Previously, only Melania's chief of staff commented on the expose branding it "dishonest", full of "mistruths", and "paranoia".
What are the Claims Made in the Book?
The book penned by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Melania Trump's friend and former senior adviser describes the story of how the two became friends and parted ways in 2018. In several excerpts published in the media, Wolkoff described Melania as a "sister", who made her "feel good". But Wolkoff also addressed the most controversial issues surrounding the president's wife:
- She claims that the two launched "Operation Block Ivanka" aimed at keeping Donald Trump's eldest daughter Ivanka out of photos during the inauguration.
- Wolkoff claims Melania was completely unfazed when news broke about Donald Trump's alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels.
- The first lady reportedly burst out laughing when Wolkoff asked her about the videotape published by The Washington Post months before the 2016 election, that exposed Trump making vulgar comments about kissing and groping women.
- Melania deliberately wore the jacket with a caption on the back reading "I really don't care, do u?" when she visited a migrant child detention centre. Wolkoff said the first lady purportedly did it because she wanted the US mainstream media to cover the visit. "She did not feel the press would cover a good deed [done by the Trump administration]. She felt the press only wanted to cover something that was damaging to the administration", Wolkoff said.
Over the past few years several books about Donald Trump and his family have been published by investigative journalists, former associates, and officials in the Trump administration. Many of them later became bestsellers. All of the books were harshly criticised by the president, who questioned the veracity of the claims made about him and the administration.
