At a White House Christmas reception on December 14, 2025, First Lady Melania Trump issued a thoughtful statement amid recent tragedies, saying: “My thoughts and prayers go to the families of people who lost loved ones around the world… My heart is with them.”
In his own comments, President Trump issued condolences to those affected by the wave of violence both at home and abroad. Vice President JD Vance similarly mourned the losses in a series of social media posts about how horrible the whole situation has been.
In any case, issuing a thoughtful statement in a short speech, the first lady said, “Good afternoon. Welcome to the White House. It’s nice to see familiar faces. First of all, my thoughts and prayers go to the families of people who lost loved ones around the world in this difficult time we are celebrating here, Christmas, and I’m thinking about them, what they’re going through, so my heart is with them.”
Summarizing one of the tragic events, the president gave his own remarks before Melania spoke. “Brown University, nine injured, two are looking down on us right now from heaven… To the nine injured, get well fast, and to the families of those two that are no longer with us, I pay my deepest regards and respects,” he said.
Pivoting to a deadly attack in Syria, the president continued. Trump noted, “We had an attack in Syria, and we had three great patriots terminated by bad people, and not the Syrian government; it was ISIS. The Syrian government fought by our side,” said Trump of the Syria incident.
Additionally, he issued another heartfelt statement for the devastating attack in Australia. “Likewise, in Australia, as you know, that was a terrible attack… That was an antisemitic attack, obviously… That was such a horrible attack, that was a purely antisemitic attack,” he said. Next, they congratulated a hero who stopped the attack, saying, “A very, very brave person, actually, who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters and saved a lot of lives.”
Watch Melania and Trump here:
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In a post to Truth Social, the president noted, “I have been briefed on the shooting that took place at Brown University in Rhode Island. The FBI is on the scene. The suspect is in custody. God bless the victims and the families of the victims!”
Echoing these comments, Vice President JD Vance issued his own thoughtful comments. “Wishing all of my Jewish friends in America a very Happy Hanukkah as they begin their celebration this evening. Please say a prayer for all of the victims of the terrible terrorist attack in Australia. May their memory be a blessing,” the VP said on social media.
Continuing his comments, Vance noted, “Terrible news out of Rhode Island this evening. We’re all monitoring the situation and the FBI stands ready to do anything to help. We’re all thinking of and praying for the victims tonight.”
Featured image from embedded video