Melania Trump Was 'Appalled' by the 'Cruelty' of Rosie O'Donnell Insinuating Barron Was Autistic: 'She Was Attacking My Son'
Oct. 5 2024, Published 3:53 p.m. ET
Melania Trump is disgusted by the way the public has treated her child — more specifically, Rosie O'Donnell.
In her upcoming memoir, Melania, which will be released on October 8, the former first lady, 54, opened up about the intense bullying her son, Barron Trump, 18, experienced as a child in the White House and how deeply the ex-co-host of The View, 62, insulating, that he had autism affected him.
In 2016, Rosie tweeted a video compilation of the young boy and called it an “opportunity to bring attention” to what she referred to as "the autism epidemic." In the tell-all, Melania said she was "appalled by such cruelty" with an adult attacking a child.
"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," the concerned mother wrote about the television personality's long-standing feud with Donald Trump. "Someone had painstakingly compiled the footage and added captions like, 'His hands are moving erratically and aren't touching each other. Then he was spotted making strange movements in his seat, typical of children with autism.'"
Melania then clarified, "There is nothing shameful about autism (though O’Donnell’s tweet implied that there was), but Barron is not autistic."
"Barron’s experience of being bullied both online and in real life following the incident is a clear indication of the irreparable damage caused,” the former model wrote. "No apology can undo the harm inflicted upon him."
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As OK! previously reported, Melania has been largely absent from the former president's 2024 campaign. "[You] also need to be very focused and take it day by day," the political wife explained about dealing with another election cycle in a recent interview. "Some surprises come as well, so it is very important that you prepare for those surprises."
Melania also emphasized that her family is being subjected to much more "danger" than in past elections after Donald, 78, was nearly assassinated over the summer. "I think we need to have — we have different perspectives, we have different beliefs. We need to respect our freedom of speech and of our individuality," she said. "I think it's very important that ideas are heard, that we have very, very straightforward communications, and we share the idea with debate. Because I think with that, we could have innovation and success in this country. I feel it's a troubling trade in this country that we are canceling people that don't agree on certain issues."
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The Daily Beast obtained passages from the book Melania.