Melania Trump breaks her silence on claims her son Barron has autism - and reveals how incident inspired her as First Lady
By Bethan Sexton For Dailymail.Com
Published: 11:14 EDT, 5 October 2024 | Updated: 18:26 EDT, 5 October 2024
Melania Trump has addressed claims that her son Barron has autism for the first time in her new book.
The former First Lady quashed the rumors, which began in the wake of her husband Donald Trump's election in 2016.
Barron was just ten-years-old when one of the former president's biggest critics, comedian Rosie O'Donnell, sparked speculation Barron may have the condition.
Melania said that the 'bullying' he was subjected to afterwards made it impossible to accept O'Donnell's eventual apology and accused the her of acting in 'sheer malice'.
But she also revealed how it inspired her to focus her child-centric Be Best initiative on childhood welfare and online bullying.
'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 New York Times reports that she wrote in her memoir. 'No apology can undo the harm inflicted upon him.'
Melania took aim at O'Donnell, who has an autistic daughter and claimed she had recirculated the rumors in an attempt to bring awareness to the condition.
'There is nothing shameful about autism (though O'Donnell's tweet implied that there was), but Barron is not autistic,' she writes, according to an extract on the Daily Beast.
She explained how O'Donnell had reposted a video speculating about how Barron's behavior could indicate he has the condition.
'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".'
She described the video as 'devastating as a parent' and accused O'Donnell of 'sheer malice'.
'I was appalled by such cruelty,' Melania continues. '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.'
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