Melania Trump was forced to offer a timid expression of concern about the chaos in Minnesota during a softball interview promoting her new documentary.
The first lady’s appearance on Fox & Friends on Tuesday began with host Ainsley Earhardt inviting Melania to send a message to Americans about “unifying both sides” amid widespread anger over the killings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis.
“We need to unify. I’m calling for unity,” Melania said. “I know my husband, the president, had a great call yesterday with the governor [Tim Walz] and the mayor [Jacob Frey], and they’re working together to make it peaceful and without riots.
“I’m against the violence. So please, if you protest, protest in peace, and we need to unify in these times,” she added.
Outrage has swept Minnesota over President Donald Trump’s hardline deportation operation in the state, as well as the killings of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent on Saturday.
In both incidents, members of the Trump administration were quick to suggest the slain victims were “terrorists” who wanted to kill or harm federal agents, despite video evidence suggesting otherwise.
Trump is said to have been angered by his administration’s handling of the killing of Pretti, who appeared to have been disarmed of his legally owned handgun during a pile-on before being shot dead.
Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, who oversaw operations in Minnesota, has since been moved on. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi “ICE Barbie” Noem has also been effectively sidelined, with Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, stepping in to oversee Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the state.
After offering sympathies to those affected by the weekend’s winter storm, the first lady pivoted back to promoting her new film, Melania.
The big-budget documentary—costing an estimated $75 million to produce and promote—receives a nationwide theatrical release on Friday. The film follows the first lady during the 20 days leading up to the president’s second inauguration last January.
The project, financed by billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Amazon MGM Studios and directed by Brett Ratner, who has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women, is projected to earn just $5 million at the box office in its opening weekend.
Speaking to Fox News, Melania suggested her documentary about the days leading up to Trump’s return to the White House tells a story “never told before.”
“The audience will see me, how I manage my business, my philanthropy, family, preparation for the inauguration, and also establishing the East Wing of the White House,” she said. “How I manage all of that in the 20 days prior to the inauguration transition from private citizen to being a first lady again.”
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