CNN contributor April Ryan was criticized by a White House rep after she claimed First Lady Melania Trump was not “culturally American.”
In an appearance on Erin Burnett’s OutFront, Ryan slammed Melania for taking on cyber-bullying with her “Be Best” initiative, claiming her husband, President Donald Trump, is considered “one of the biggest bullies.”
“There’s obviously some pretty painful reality in the First Lady taking on cyber-bullying. And the First Lady is well aware of that,” Burnett says in her segue to Ryan.
“She’s well aware of his cyber-bullying,” Ryan responded. “He’s considered by some, well many I would say in different sectors, one of the biggest bullies. He will call you out in a moment’s notice and she stood in front of him and basically said she wants to show young people how it’s done and do it right and they will pick up those habits.”
Ryan went on to argue the First Lady didn’t pick up on the irony because she’s not “culturally American.”
“This is a First Lady who is not culturally American, but she is learning the ways,” Ryan said, before correcting herself to clarify cyber-bullying isn’t confined solely to America.
“This is not just an American issue. These are not just American issues. These are international issues. Cyber-bullying is an international issue. Social media is international and also the opioid addiction issue, so it’s not just here.”
Ryan’s comments turned heads at the White House.
Special Assistant to Trump and White House Director of Strategic Response Steven Cheung challenged Ryan on what she meant by the remark.
On @OutFrontCNN, @AprilDRyan just said @FLOTUS is not "culturally American." What does that even mean? On a day when Mrs. Trump unveiled a very important initiative #BeBest, reporters can't bring themselves to talk about anything but rumors and innuendo.
— Steven Cheung (@scheung45) May 7, 2018
“What does that even mean?” Cheung wrote. “On a day when Mrs. Trump unveiled a very important initiative #BeBest, reporters can’t bring themselves to talk about anything but rumors and innuendo.”
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