Melania Trump breaks her silence on claims her son Barron has autism – and reveals how the incident inspired her as First Lady

Melania Trump has addressed claims that her son Barron has autism for the first time in her new book.

The former First Lady suppressed the rumors, which began in the wake of her husband Donald Trump’s election in 2016.

Barron was just 10 years old when one of the former president’s biggest critics, comedian Rosie O’Donnell, sparked speculation that Barron might have the condition.

Melania said the “bullying” he was subsequently subjected to made it impossible to accept O’Donnell’s eventual apology and accused her of “pure malice.”

But she also revealed how it inspired her to focus her child-focused Be Best initiative on child welfare and online bullying.

Melania Trump has addressed claims that her son Barron has autism for the first time in her new memoir

“Barron’s experience of being bullied both online and in real life following the incident is a clear indication of the irreparable damage that has been done,” the spokesperson said. New York Times reports that she wrote in her memoirs. “No apology can undo the damage done to him.”

Melania took aim at O’Donnell, who has an autistic daughter, claiming she had re-spread the rumors in an attempt to raise awareness of the condition.

“There is nothing shameful about autism (although O’Donnell’s tweet suggested there was), but Barron is not autistic,” she wrote, according to an excerpt on the newspaper’s website. Daily beast.

She explained how O’Donnell reposted a video speculating about how Barron’s behavior could indicate he has the condition.

‘Someone had painstakingly compiled the footage and added captions such as: “His hands are moving erratically and not touching. Then he was noticed making strange movements in his chair, typical of children with autism.”

She described the video as “devastating as a parent” and accused O’Donnell of “pure malice.”

“I was shocked by so much cruelty,” Melania continues. ‘It was clear to me that she was not interested in raising awareness about autism. I felt like she attacked my son because she didn’t like my husband.”

The former First Lady suppressed the rumors, which began in the wake of her husband Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory

Melania recalled how her son was bullied online and said the damage it caused made it impossible to accept an apology from comedian Rosie O’Donnell, who sparked the speculation.

Melania Trump discussed the situation in her new memoir ‘Melania’

Trump and O’Donnell had long been embroiled in a feud with the former president joking about making derogatory comments about the TV producer when challenged about his misogyny by former Fox news anchor Megyn Kelly in the first Republican debate.

“You’ve called women fat pigs, dogs, slobs, disgusting animals,” Kelly said, before Trump intervened and said, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”

She also describes her surprise at the “resistance I encountered from tech executives” of social media companies and other online giants when they met with their leaders at the White House in March 2018 to discuss child safety.

One of the memoir’s biggest revelations is Melania’s endorsement of abortion rights, which stands in stark contrast to her husband’s.

“A woman’s fundamental right to individual freedom over her own life gives her the power to terminate her pregnancy if she so chooses,” she wrote.

“Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is like denying her control over her own body.”

However, she appears to hold views similar to her husband’s on most other issues, including criticizing the validity of the 2020 election results.

“You can’t just keep counting votes for days, and that’s exactly what they did,” she wrote, which seems to explain her lack of conviction for the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol.

Melania Trump has protected Barron in the past and accused O’Donnell of ‘pure malice’

She shared how the incident inspired her to focus her child-focused Be Best initiative on child welfare and online bullying

O’Donnell fueled the speculation by reposting and commenting on a video of Barron dissecting the way he moves his body as evidence that he has the condition.

‘It was a mess. Many Americans still have doubts about the election to this day. I’m not the only one who questions the results.’

Melania also addresses the 2018 firestorm surrounding her decision to wear a jacket, saying, “I really don’t care, do you?” while visiting migrant children in Texas.

The sartorial mistake came as her husband’s administration oversaw a policy at the southern border that led to thousands of families being separated.

The former first lady blames the policy on then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and claims she personally lobbied her husband to overturn it.”

The government should not take children away from their parents,” he recalled. ‘This has got to stop.’

The decision to wear the jacket is seen as a swipe at the media’s ‘skewed stories’ rather than as related to the visit.

Her defense of her husband even extends to her portrayal of their marriage, notably glossing over several scandals during the campaign and during her time in office.

These include his infamous boast about being able to grab women by the genitals, which was caught on tape and released in 2016, as well as allegations that he paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels.

O’Donnell, who has a daughter with autism, said she reposted the video in an effort to raise awareness of the condition

Melania also addresses the 2018 firestorm surrounding her decision to wear a jacket, saying, “I really don’t care, do you?” while visiting migrant children in Texas

Instead, Melania paints a picture of a united front, sharing a love for Elton John and writing letters to Britain’s King Charles.

The former First Lady also talks about how her husband had a front-row seat to some of the most important moments in history, including being invited to witness a military attack on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.