Melania Trump breaks her silence on claims her son Barron is autistic – and reveals how the incident inspired her as First Lady

Melania Trump has addressed claims that her son Barron is autistic for the first time in her new book.

The former First Lady denied rumors that arose following the election of her husband Donald Trump in 2016.

Barron was just ten years old when one of the former president’s biggest critics, comedian Rosie O’Donnell, sparked speculation about the couple’s son.

Melania said the “harassment” he subsequently received made it impossible to accept O’Donnell’s eventual apology.

But she also revealed how it inspired her to focus her child-centered Be Best initiative on child welfare and online bullying.

“The fact that Barron was bullied both online and in real life after the incident is a clear indication of the irreparable damage caused,” the New York Times reports in his memoir. “No apology can undo the harm that was inflicted on him.”

She also details her surprise during the “the resistance I encountered from tech executives” of social media companies and other online giants, when she met with their executives at the White House in March 2018 to discuss security children.

One of the biggest revelations in the memoir is Melania’s assertion of the right to abortion, which stands in stark contrast to her husband’s.

“A woman’s fundamental right to individual liberty, to her own life, gives her the power to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” she writes.

“Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether or not to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is tantamount to denying her control over her own body.

However, on most other issues, she appears to have similar views to her husband, including disparaging the validity of the 2020 election result.

“You can’t keep counting votes for days like they did,” she wrote, appearing to explain her lack of condemnation of the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol.

“It was a disaster. Many Americans still doubt the election today. I’m not the only one who questions the results.

Melania also addresses the 2018 firestorm surrounding her decision to wear a jacket emblazoned with the words: “I really don’t care, do I?” while visiting migrant children in Texas.

The sartorial faux pas came at a time when her husband’s administration was overseeing a policy at the southern border that led to the separation of thousands of families.

The former first lady attributes the policy to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and says she personally pressured her husband to reverse it.

The government should not take children away from their parents,” he recalls. “This has to stop.”

The decision to wear the jacket is presented as a criticism of the media’s “biased narratives” rather than as a connection to the visit.

Her defense of her husband even extends to her description of their marriage, which notably ignores several scandals during the campaign and during her mandate.

These include his infamous boast that he was able to grab women by the genitals, which was filmed and published in 2016, as well as allegations that he paid hush money to the star Stormy Daniels porn.

Instead, Melania paints a portrait of a united front, with the two sharing a love for Elton John and writing letters to the United Kingdom’s King Charles.

The former First Lady also details being put at the forefront by her husband during some of the most important moments in history, such as being invited to witness a military raid against ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.