First lady Melania Trump used a statement condemning last week’s storming of the U.S. Capitol to criticized what she called “personal attacks” and “salacious gossip” about her and never alluded to her husband’s role in inciting the mob.
In a lengthy statement titled “Our Path Forward” posted Monday morning to the official White House website, Melania denounced violence and urged Americans to “rise above what divides us.” The first lady said her “heart goes out to” the people who died at or after the riot: Ashli Babbitt, Benjamin Philips, Kevin Greeson, Rosanne Boyland and Capitol Police officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood.