Former CNN host Don Lemon faced backlash online after he mocked Melania Trump for implying there was more to the attempted assassination of her husband than the public was aware. The former President’s wife, advertising her new autobiography, said the shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was “horrible” and “distressing.” The declared that there is “more to the story.”
Mr. Lemon subsequently posted his own video, showing him watching Melania’s post while rolling his eyes and shaking his head. Public backlash followed, with several people condemning Lemon for his lack of sympathy and for mocking a woman whose husband came close to death. “Can you have empathy for a human without considering politics for once in your life?” one person asked.
Melania Trump has recently published a self-titled book in which she promises to clarify aspects of her relationship with the former President and her time in the White House. “It’s time for the truth,” she said.
To promote the book, Mrs. Trump posted family photos of her son Barron on social media and, unusually, commented on the 2020 election, saying it had changed America forever. She also condemned the country’s cost-of-living crisis and erosion of free speech, stating that this is demonstrated by increasing efforts to silence her husband.
Notably, Melania also described life with her son and said he brought “immense fulfillment which only a mother understands.” Her remarks came amid controversy largely attributed to Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, and his contentious opinions about motherhood. Vance famously decried “childless cat ladies” during a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson, prompting a backlash from a number of American women who have elected not to give birth.
When superstar Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for President in the immediate aftermath of the Philadelphia debate, she signed her endorsement, “childless cat lady,” and posted an image of herself with her cat alongside it. Images from the Vice President’s rallies show dozens of women donning t-shirts with the now-famous slogan, and a Facebook group – Cat Ladies For Harris – quickly gained more than 100,000 members.
