Melania Trump has criticized the "opportunists" who use her family name "to advance themselves," such as journalists and comedians, and lashed out at the media for focusing on "gossip" and "nonsense" instead of the "substance."
Fox News host Sean Hannity asked America's first lady during an interview on Wednesday night what she had found hardest to deal with since entering the White House.
Read more: Obama receives human rights award: "The crooked road can be made straight"
"I would say the opportunists who are using my name or my family name to advance themselves, from comedians, to journalists, to performers, book writers," she said in comments that echo her husband, President Donald Trump, and his frustration with the media.
"It doesn't hurt. The problem is they [are] writing the history and it's not correct...They like to focus on the gossip and I would like [them] to focus on the substance and what we do, not just about nonsense."
Her language when talking about the media, however, is much more temperate than that of the president, whose uses incendiary rhetoric about journalists and outlets he dislikes, calling them "fake news" and the "enemy of the people."
It is not the first time Melania Trump has criticized the media. She recently experienced a backlash over her "Be Best" campaign against cyberbullying because it stood in juxtaposition to the president's vitriolic tweets, which often feature mocking nicknames.
"As I have said before, it is not news or surprising to me that critics in the media have chosen to ridicule me for speaking out on this issue—and that's OK," she said during the Family Online Safety Institute's annual conference in Washington, D.C.
"I remain committed to tackling this topic because it will provide a better world for our children. And I hope that like I do, you will consider using their negative words as motivation to do all you can to bring awareness and understanding about responsible online behavior."
The first lady is often a target for mockery by comedians and on social media. Recently, her choice of Christmas decorations in the White House, which included red trees, were derided as "blood trees" and compared to horror movie The Shining.
After her recent tour of Africa, the comedian Jimmy Kimmel took aim at her choice of colonial-looking clothing, and said she looked happier there than with her husband.
The mother of one has also endured reports of the president's alleged infidelity with two women who were secretly paid hush money before the 2016 election to keep quiet.
President Trump denies affairs with those women. They are the adult film actress Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, and Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model.
However, the president was implicated in campaign finance violations by his former fixer Michael Cohen, who arranged the payments and received a jail sentence for them.
Read more: Sensational details about Trump emerge from the new Stormy Daniels tell-all book
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shane Croucher is a Senior Editor based in London, UK. He oversees the My Turn team. He has previously overseen ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.