'Mrs. Trump is a strong and independent woman': FLOTUS's spokesperson explains why she hasn't reached out to Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama‘s memoir, titled Becoming, officially hit bookstands on Tuesday morning. And already, it’s incited a conversation about the relationship between the Obama administration and the current White House under Donald Trump. Most specifically, how the former first lady had offered her help to Melania Trump, and has yet to hear from her.In an exclusive interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, which aired on Sunday night, the pair touched on an excerpt from Obama’s book in which she discusses how her predecessor, Laura Bush, told Obama that she was just “a phone call away.” In turn, Obama has offered the same assistance to the current first lady. But when Roberts asked, “Has [Trump] reached out to you and asked for any help?” Obama responded, “No, she hasn’t.”
.@MichelleObama tells @RobinRoberts @FLOTUS Melania Trump has never reached out for advice. #MichelleObama #Michellehttps://t.co/GG1GiLxNVX pic.twitter.com/FLC42eG1Oj
— Good Morning America (@GMA) November 12, 2018
Now, Trump’s spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham, is responding to the conversation, saying that Trump has plenty of other resources.
“Mrs. Trump is a strong and independent woman who has been navigating her role as first lady in her own way,” Grisham told CNN. “When she needs advice on any issue, she seeks it from her professional team within the White House.”
People have already had mixed reactions to that response.
How is seeking counsel from predecessors contrary to being “strong and independent “?
— Culture of Politics (@cultofpolitics) November 12, 2018
This spokesperson for flotus always seems to have such an acid tongue. Maybe she’s in the wrong line of work
— pollyv (@ppowell002) November 12, 2018
So she asks her flunkies for advice but not the person who held down her job for the previous 8 years. Cool cool
— Matt Pociask (@matt_pociask) November 12, 2018
Strong and independent women know when to seek help and are wise enough to find those with the most knowledge and experience.
— Jennifer Barton (@jenbartva) November 12, 2018
@MichelleObama i’m pretty sure there’s nothing you could tell a classy woman like @FLOTUS that she doesn’t already know.
— DEPLORABLE in MD (@DeplorableMD) November 13, 2018
If Michelle Obama was any kind of Lady at all, she would have reached out to Melania. @FLOTUS doesn't seem like she's looking for slap in the face from someone as petty as Michelle Obama.
— Jana ?? (@thefirstjana) November 13, 2018
Obama herself, however, has seemed to accept her lack of relationship with the current first lady, and her displeasure with the administration in general — to the extent that she wrote about how she could no longer smile during President Trump’s 2017 Inauguration.
“The vibrant diversity of the two previous inaugurations was gone. Someone from Barack’s administration might have said that the optics there were bad,” Obama wrote. “That what the public saw didn’t reflect the president’s reality or ideals. But in this case, maybe it did. Realizing it, I made my own optic adjustment. I stopped even trying to smile.”
“I stopped even trying to smile,” @MichelleObama shares what she was feeling during President Trump’s 2017 Presidential Inauguration. #MichelleObama #Michellehttps://t.co/GG1GiLxNVX pic.twitter.com/iBq38HR5hv
— Good Morning America (@GMA) November 12, 2018
Trump may not have cultivated a relationship with Obama, but they have seen each other on a number of occasions since the election — including at tea at the White House in November 2016, at the inauguration itself, and at a memorial service for Barbara Bush.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
? ‘I felt lost and alone’: Michelle Obama opens up about fertility struggles in new memoir
? Little girl who admired Michelle Obama’s portrait dresses as the former first lady for Halloween
? Michelle Obama is getting heat for her friendship with ‘wonderful man’ George W. Bush: ‘I love him to death’
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