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Beloved former First Lady Melania Trump is once again under attack from disingenuous reporters who are trying to smear her charitable efforts, and she is hitting back.
Following a story in the New York Times about the Trumps’ various “money-making” ventures, Raw Story, which even Wikipedia describes as a “hyperpartisan outlet” and an “online tabloid,” focused in on Melania and tweeted out an article that screamed, “Melania Trump being investigated for skirting charity laws in Florida.”
Mrs. Trump wasn’t having it, and quickly tweeted her response:
“Dishonest reporting at it again,” Melania wrote. “Everything has been done lawfully, & all documents are in the works. Read with caution – typical corrupt media.”
“We are working w/Bradley Impact Fund, a Donor-Advised Fund, to select charities that will receive the donations to foster children,” she said.
Dishonest reporting at it again. Everything has been done lawfully, & all documents are in the works. Read with caution-typical corrupt media.
We are working w/Bradley Impact Fund, a Donor-Advised Fund, to select charities that will receive the donations to foster children. https://t.co/5ZKr5SwIZz
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) February 12, 2022
At the root of the controversy is a “Tulips & Topiaries” high tea event, listed on the charity fundraising platform Vast, to benefit an initiative of Mrs. Trump’s Be Best program called “Fostering the Future.”
Tables to the April event run $3,000 per ticket, with VIP table sponsorships going for $50,000 a pop. Proceeds from the afternoon with Melania will provide computer-science scholarships for kids who have been in the foster care system, according to the Times.
“There was no indication of how much of the proceeds Mrs. Trump herself intended to pocket,” wrote the Times. “Florida requires any organization that raises charitable contributions in the state to register. No charity with the name ‘Fostering the Future’ or ‘Be Best’ is registered in Florida.”
“Asked about the solicitation, officials at the Florida agency that oversees charitable fund-raising said they also could not find evidence of the required state registration and had opened an inquiry as a result,” the article states.
What the New York Times failed to report is that Melania Trump is working with the Bradley Impact Fund (BIF), which, according to InfluenceWatch, “allows individual donors to open accounts, after which the donors can then recommend grant disbursements to qualified nonprofits.”
In other words, neither “Fostering the Future” nor “Be Best” are listed as charities because they aren’t charities. Mrs. Trump has apparently tied her BIF donor account to the name “Fostering the Future,” and BIF will disperse the donations to the best, fully-registered charities that will assist the foster children with their educations.
“BIF ‘performs professional evaluation of potential grantees to ensure donor contributions make the desired impact and uphold donor intent,'” states InfluenceWatch.
And this is what Melania meant by the corrupt media.
With all the “deep-dive” digging Raw Story claims The New York Times did, neither outlet mentioned a donor-advised fund (DAF) or named the Bradley Impact Fund when they were throwing ugly innuendos in Melania’s direction.
Support for Melania, who is arguably the most loved First Lady since Jackie was in the White House, is unwavering among the MAGA crowd.
“They never stop! They hate her cuz they ain’t her,” tweeted one supporter.
“My beautiful First Lady under attack,” wrote another.
And Sebastian Gorka turned his disgust to the tabloid that printed it: “The scum that is @RawStory.”
They never stop! They hate her cuz they ain’t her https://t.co/DBW5trs452
— Patriotic Mom for MAGA (@arealpatriot123) February 13, 2022
My beautiful First Lady under attack. https://t.co/JDq1RRNjZR
— Diane McAlister (@LadyMac65) February 13, 2022
The scum that is @RawStory https://t.co/Vlplugklzy
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) February 12, 2022
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