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Melania blames Trump’s ‘enemies’ for ‘unfair’ 2020 election results
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Melania blames Trump’s ‘enemies’ for ‘unfair’ 2020 election results

Melania Trump has finally revealed where she stands on Donald Trump’s denial of the 2020 election.

In her new memoir MelaniaThe former first lady on Tuesday reiterated her husband’s refusal to accept the outcome and reiterated his baseless claims that his “enemies have joined together” to prevent his re-election “by any means necessary.”

She adds that she is “not the only person questioning the results.”

“The media, Big Tech and the deep state were all determined to prevent Donald’s re-election by any means necessary,” Melania wrote.

“With all these enemies aligned, I was afraid the election would be unfair.”

Melania remembers watching election night unfold from her room in the White House with son Barron as Trump came in and out of the room.

When Fox News Arizona mentioned President Joe Biden, Melania reveals she was in disbelief and more convinced than ever that the 2020 race was “not a normal election.”

“At 11:30 p.m., Fox News predicted Arizona would flip to Biden. I couldn’t believe it,” she wrote.

“How could they call this so early before all the votes were counted? It was another sign that this was not a normal election.”

Her suspicions grew when she learned that “because of the way different states counted mail-in ballots and the different deadlines for mail-in ballots, the results wouldn’t be clear for several days,” Melania says.

“At this point everything was called into question for me.”

Melania repeats Donald Trump's denial of the 2020 election in her memoir
Melania repeats Donald Trump’s denial of the 2020 election in her memoir (AFP via Getty Images)

Melania’s description of how the votes were counted and the races called is not new or unusual.

It is standard practice that once media organizations believe that enough unofficial vote counting information has been released to determine the ultimate winner, they will announce an expected result.

These are of course only projections. In the days that follow, election officials will release updated vote counts as more are counted.

“State laws and practices vary depending on when mail-in ballot results, early voting results, and Election Day results are released,” the Bipartisan Policy Center explains. “State laws determine the timeline for certification, but in some states this could be several weeks after Election Day.”

But Melania doesn’t seem to agree with the process.

“Elections should be held on one day and polling stations should close at midnight. The votes are counted and that’s it. We need that certainty. This is how fair elections should be conducted,” she writes.

In the chapter, she also addresses the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and confirms that her former press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, texted her that day asking if she would denounce the violence happening outside.

A mob of Trump supporters storms the Capitol on January 6, 2021
A mob of Trump supporters storms the Capitol on January 6, 2021 (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Although she is not mentioned in the chapter, Grisham, who served in the role from July 2019 to April 2020 before becoming communications director and chief of staff to the first lady, revealed the exchange at this year’s Democratic National Convention, where she endorsed Kamala Harris for president .

“On January 6, I asked Melania if we could at least tweet that ‘while peaceful protest is the right of every American, there is no place for lawlessness or violence,’” Grisham said, with the apparent text appearing on screens behind her.

Melania simply replied: “No.”

From her view of the Capitol from the White House that day, Melania acknowledges that she noticed “a significant group of people” outside but was focused on other tasks.

When Grisham sent her the text message, Melania writes that she was “perplexed.”

Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham speaks on stage for an apparent text message with former first lady Melania Trump
Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham speaks on stage for an apparent text message with former first lady Melania Trump (Getty Images)

She recalls, “At 2:25 p.m., I received a text from my press secretary, who was not at the White House; I don’t know if she was even in DC. I glanced at her text. She asked if I wanted to ‘denounce the violence’. I found the question confusing: when had I ever tolerated violence?’

She blames her staff for the lack of communication and claims she was “unaware” of the riots unfolding at the Capitol.

“Traditionally, the First Lady’s chief of staff provides detailed briefings on our country’s important issues,” she scorns. “My second White House chief of staff failed to do that. Had I been fully aware of all the details, I would of course have immediately denounced the violence at the Capitol.”

Like her husband, she also takes aim at former Vice President Mike Pence, without blaming Trump for “inciting the mob” that day.

One allegation against the former president is that he was heard repeatedly shouting the word “hang” in his office while live TV showed a crowd of his supporters in the Capitol chanting “hang Mike Pence,” according to Cassidy Hutchinson’s book.

Melania, meanwhile, continues to denounce the violence of that day.

“While I recognized that many people felt the election was mishandled and that the vice president should halve the confirmation process, we must never resort to violence,” she wrote.