Former First Lady Melania Trump recently sounded off on the “irreparable damage” caused by rumors started about her son, Barron Trump. In her latest memoir, Melania revealed that a 2016 video and tweet led to Barron, then a young 10-year-old, being bullied as a result of the salacious lies that he had autism. Barron, now 18, is attending college at the prestigious New York University.
In the former first lady’s memoir, titled, “Melania,” she recounted a tweet from liberal comedian Rosie O’Donnell during the Trump administration that claimed that the first son was autistic. The now-deleted tweet from 2016 shared a video taken at the Republican National Convention, in which O’Donnell questioned, “Barron Trump autistic? If so, what an amazing opportunity to bring attention to the AUTISM epidemic.”
Melania denied that her son had autism, blasting the statement as cruel. “I was appalled by such cruelty,” she wrote in her memoir. “It was clear to me that she was not interested in raising awareness about autism. I felt that she was attacking my son because she didn’t like my husband.” Trump and O’Donnell have maintained a rocky relationship over the years.
However, while emphasizing that Barron was not autistic, Melania maintained that she was not seeking to demonize autism. “There is nothing shameful about autism (though O’Donnell’s tweet implied that there was), but Barron is not autistic,” she said.
Melania highlighted the negative impacts the tweet had on Barron, claiming he was bullied both in person and on the internet. “Barron’s experience of being bullied both online and in real life following the incident is a clear indication of the irreparable damage caused,” she said describing the experience for her family as “devastating.” Melania added, “It felt like my heart was breaking into pieces.”
According to Dr. Agnesa Papazyan, a psychologist with a focus on autism and similar conditions, it can be very harmful to make an unprofessional, public claim that someone is autistic. “Publicly speculating about whether someone has autism based solely on how they act, talk or behave can have negative implications — not only on the individual, but also the broader autism community,” she said. “It makes the individual feel judged, misunderstood, excluded and stigmatized against.”
Highlighting the impacts of this behavior, as demonstrated by O’Donnell, Papazyan explained, “This can also lead to unfair treatment of the individual and create unnecessary barriers or judgments in their personal and professional life.” She added, “”The spectrum nature of autism means that some individuals may be highly verbal and have exceptional cognitive abilities, while others may have significant communication or sensory challenges,” she said.
The American Tribune recently reported on comments from Melania Trump during a Fox News interview to promote her memoir. During the segment, Melania blasted the negativity directed at her family in the aftermath of the assassination attempts against her husband. “It’s…this is not normal, and is it really shocking that all this courageous violence goes against my husband, especially that we hear the leaders from the opposition party and mainstream media branding him as a threat to democracy, calling him vile names, they only fueling a toxic atmosphere and giving power all of these people that they want to do harm to him,” she said.
Watch a clip from the interview below:
"*" indicates required fields