WASHINGTON — White House counselor Kellyanne Conway suggested Slovenia-born Melania Trump isn’t getting enough recognition as an immigrant first lady because she’s not aligned with the “privileged white” protesters.
“It’s so gratifying to me to see that in 2017, frankly, an immigrant first lady,” Conway said in a taped interview on Fox News’ “Media Buzz” that aired Sunday. “Who is covering that story? Why isn’t she out there?”
“Because she’s not singing kumbaya with the protesters and their signs with privileged white kids coming out the ivory tower saying, ‘Look at my sign.’ They have no idea what they are protesting. They are in this culture of sameness.”
Protesters have been a staple of the Trump administration and outrage has grown over President Trump’s partial travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries.
The ban is currently on a court-ordered hold.
Conway appeared on “Media Buzz” to defend Melania Trump’s lower-profile role as first lady and her decision to stay behind in Manhattan until their 10-year-old son, Barron, finishes his school year.
The immigration remarks were unprompted and cap a bizarre week for Trump’s counselor. She apologized for citing a fake “Bowling Green massacre” and had to be “counseled” on ethics after peddling Ivanka Trump’s fashion line during an interview from the White House.
Stephen Miller, the senior White House policy adviser, said Conway’s comment on Fox News “to go buy Ivanka’s stuff” was a “lighthearted” pitch.
“I think people are blowing this thing way out of proportion,” Miller told ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.
But the top bipartisan lawmakers from the House Oversight Committee — Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) — said Thursday Conway appeared to have violated federal ethics regulations that prevent government employees from using their position to endorse any product.
“This was a textbook case of a violation of the law,” Cummings added on ABC Sunday.
Melania Trump, a Slovenia-born former model, is only the second first lady to be born outside the United States. Louisa Adams, the wife of John Quincy Adams, was born in London.
“The woman is beautiful inside and out. She’s brilliant. She speaks five languages, I speak one because I’m American,” Conway said on “Media Buzz.”
It’s notable, Conway said, “to have an immigrant as our first lady, somebody who waited and went through the proper channels and waited, I’m told, up to 10 years to … get everything approved.”