First lady Melania Trump wants to see the “pushback” against her husband stop as President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown causes tensions to rise across the country.
Melania went on Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria to promote her new documentary, a film about the days leading up to her husband’s second inauguration, which comes out Friday.
Speaking to host Maria Bartiromo, Melania defended Trump, touting his job on immigration enforcement and saying that his critics simply aren’t listening to him.
“I saw one part of the film where you tell the president, ‘Be a unifier.’ We have such division in this country. What do you want him to do, in terms of being a unifier? How can he unite the country?” Bartiromo asked.
Melania replied, “I give him my advice, and we talk about that, and we could see that the country it’s divided and it’s very hard. No matter what he says, they don’t like to listen. And what’s going on in our country now, I feel that it’s a lot of pushback, and I hope it stops.”
“I think he’s doing fantastic job. He’s had the great success, and he’s unifier. He’s positive-thinking, forward-thinking. He wants to put this country in the order that everybody can live here freely, not in danger. He would like to have country that all of the people can walk down the street and not to be harassed or murdered or women raped,” Melania continued.
“What happened few years ago, so many criminals came over the border and he closed the border now, a while back already, and we need to take care of our citizens.”
Melania is herself an immigrant. The Slovenian native moved to New York in the 1990s and later became a U.S. citizen. She has mostly stayed out of the political spotlight, aside from her work on issues affecting children, such as expanding educational opportunities for those aging out of foster care.
The first lady’s comments come as the Trump administration faces widespread criticism for its mass deportation operations across the country. While the administration has said it’s targeting the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” recent headlines out of Minnesota have called federal immigration agents’ tactics into question.
A photo of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos being taken into federal custody outside his home in a Minneapolis suburb recently went viral. He and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, were taken to a detention center in Texas. The Department of Homeland Security said the child was taken into custody for his safety, but a local school official who witnessed the operation said some adults could’ve taken the child.
Two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by federal immigration agents in two separate incidents in Minneapolis this month. The Trump administration has framed both shootings as self-defense, but that justification has been called into question.
Most Americans supported the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants during the 2024 election, but, according to a new poll, more Americans now support abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement than not.
The YouGov poll found that 46 percent of Americans somewhat or strongly support abolishing ICE, more than the 41 percent who somewhat or strongly oppose getting rid of the agency. Another 12 percent were unsure.
