First Lady Melania Trump issued a rare rebuke Thursday of the anonymous New York Times op-ed that was written by a “senior official in the Trump administration” who talked about being a part of a “resistance” within the administration.
"Freedom of speech is an important pillar of our nation's founding principles and a free press is important to our democracy,” she told CNN in a statement. “The press should be fair, unbiased and responsible."
"To the writer of the op-ed -- you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions," the first lady emphasized.
She went on to complain about the increased use of anonymous sources by the mainstream media, arguing that it was irresponsible and unfair.
"Unidentified sources have become the majority of the voices people hear about in today's news,” she wrote. “People with no names are writing our nation's history. Words are important, and accusations can lead to severe consequences. If a person is bold enough to accuse people of negative actions, they have a responsibility to publicly stand by their words and people have the right to be able to defend themselves."
I asked @FLOTUS about the oped, here is her answer to @CNN: pic.twitter.com/MGYPijt7Vw
— Kate Bennett (@KateBennett_DC) September 6, 2018
President Trump tweeted his own response to the op-ed Wednesday, calling the writer "gutless" and wondering if the administration official actually existed.
Does the so-called “Senior Administration Official” really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018