In a statement published Monday, First Lady Melania Trump shared her heartfelt condolences for those who lost their lives in last week’s deadly insurrection by Trump supporters at the Capitol. “With nearly every experience I have had, I found myself carrying many individual’s stories home with me in my heart,” she wrote on her time as the First Lady. But ABC’s vindictive senior congressional correspondent, Mary Bruce skipped over those parts and chose to critique another.
“Melania Trump says she was ‘[d]isappointed and disheartened’ by the insurrection, but that she's been treated unfairly,” she noted on ABC’s World News Tonight. “Saying it’s ‘Shameful that surrounding these tragic events there has been salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me.’”
“It's unclear what she's talking about,” Bruce sneered. “This time is solely about healing our country and its citizens. It should not be used for personal gain,” Melania added in that same paragraph, but ABC refused to note.
An important part of the statement that ABC and Bruce intentionally omitted from their reporting, was how the First Lady said she’ll carry with her the stories of those who had died at the Capitol:
As your First Lady, it has been inspiring to witness firsthand what the people of our great Nation will do for one another, especially when we are at our most vulnerable.
With nearly every experience I have had, I found myself carrying many individual’s stories home with me in my heart.
Most recently, my heart goes out to: Air Force Veteran, Ashli Babbitt, Benjamin Philips, Kevin Greeson, Roseanne Boyland, and Capitol Police Officers, Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood. I pray for their families comfort and strength during this difficult time.
In contrast to ABC, NBC Nightly News and White House correspondent Peter Alexander told viewers about how the First Lady denounced violence.
“First Lady Melania Trump breaking her silence, expressing her condolences to the families of those who died and calling for calm. ‘Our nation must heal in a civil manner,’ she writes. ‘Violence is never acceptable,’” he reported.
Further in her statement, she implored “people to stop the violence” and “never make assumptions based on the color of a person’s skin or use differing political ideologies as a basis for aggression and viciousness. We must listen to one another, focus on what unites us, and rise above what divides us.”
“Every day let us remember that we are one Nation under God. God bless you all and God bless the United States of America,” she concluded.
The transcripts are below:
ABC’s World News Tonight
January 11, 2021
6:37:36 p.m. Eastern(…)
MARY BRUCE: But breaking her silence today, the First Lady. Melania Trump says she was "Disappointed and disheartened" by the insurrection, but that she's been treated unfairly. Saying it’s "Shameful that surrounding these tragic events there has been salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me." It's unclear what she's talking about.
(…)
NBC Nightly News
January 11, 2021
7:04:04 p.m. Eastern(…)
PETER ALEXANDER: First Lady Melania Trump breaking her silence, expressing her condolences to the families of those who died and calling for calm. “Our nation must heal in a civil manner,” she writes. “Violence is never acceptable.”
(…)
