Melania Trump opens up about whether Barron is 'autistic' in memoir

Melania Trump has revealed that her son Barron is not “autistic” – and claimed he was bullied in person and online because Rosie O'Donnell tweeted the false claim.

The former first lady addressed longstanding claims that the youngest of Donald Trump's five children may be on the autism spectrum in her new memoir. Melaniawhich will be published on Tuesday. The Daily Beast has seen a copy of the 184-page book.

The book frequently attacks critics of Melania and her husband and rehash many of the controversies that have affected the couple since Trump's candidacy in 2015.

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But it is the passage about O'Donnell that is most scathing about one of the couple's perceived enemies – and most revealing about Barron, whose privacy Melania had previously guarded.

The run-in with O'Donnell began when Barron, now 18, was the subject of a gruesome viral video in November 2016 that purported to show his behavior showed signs of autism spectrum disorder, including that he ended up not clapped his hands together as he applauded his father's speech to the Republican National Convention that year.

The video received rocket fuel when O'Donnell, the comedian and former co-host of The viewShe tweeted about it in apparent compassion, saying it was an “opportunity to draw attention to what she called “the autism epidemic.”

“I was horrified by this cruelty,” writes Melania. “It was clear to me that her point was not to raise awareness of autism. I felt like she was attacking my son because she didn’t like my husband.”

The former first lady makes it clear that she watched every second of the video, which was later deleted by the person who posted it, writing: “Someone had carefully compiled the footage and added captions like, 'His hands.' move irregularly and don't touch each other. He was then seen making strange movements in his seat, typical of children with autism.'”

But, says Melania, his behavior is normal for his age; At the time of the 2016 RNC in Cleveland, Barron was 10 years old.

“There is nothing shameful about autism (although O'Donnell's tweet suggested so), but Barron is not autistic,” she writes.

She accuses O'Donnell of “pure malice” and calls it “devastating for a mother.” “It felt like my heart was breaking into pieces.”

O'Donnell deleted the tweet and apologized for it and said that one of her daughters was on the autism spectrum, shortly after Melania hired a hardline lawyer to deal with the original poster, who also deleted the video.

But in the book she writes: “Barron's experience of being bullied both online and in real life following the incident is a clear indication of the irreparable damage that was caused.” It is the first time she has made the point. that Barron's bullying goes beyond online trolling and extends to his offline experience as a child.

She also attributes O'Donnell's tweet to the long-running feud between the comedian and her husband, which began in 2006 and was followed obsessively by the then star of The apprentice on Twitter for years. It also impacted his first presidential campaign when he was challenged by then-Fox News host Megyn Kelly at the first Republican debate. When she said, “You called women fat pigs, dogs, sluts, disgusting animals,” Trump raised his finger to interrupt her and said, smiling, “Just Rosie O'Donnell.”

The former first lady's memoir will be published just a month before Election Day. It is published by Skyhorse Publishing — which has also published anti-vaccine books by RFK Jr. and a memoir by Woody Allen that was canceled by the original publisher — and distributed by Simon & Schuster.

Melania has already revealed that she is at odds with her husband's party on the issue of abortion and said she is uncompromising in her views on reproductive rights. “Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to decide what she does with her own body?” she writes. “A woman’s fundamental right to individual freedom and her own life gives her the power to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.”

In contrast, her husband appointed three Supreme Court justices who voted to oust her Roe v. Wade; wavered on whether he would sign a national abortion ban (he currently maintains he would not); was unsure whether, as a Florida resident, he would support a ballot measure that would repeal the current six-week abortion limit (he now says he will vote to keep the six-week abortion limit); and previously said there should be “some form of punishment” for women who terminate a pregnancy.

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From the Daily Beast's perspective, the book as a whole is highly supportive of Trump, and much of it is devoted to boasting about her time as first lady while also complaining about “the media” and other perceived critics.

But it's a through line of her love for Barron, whom she describes in one passage as a “remarkable young man” when he's almost 14 years old. “Barron possesses a rare combination of intelligence, charm and hard work,” she writes. “With a circle of friends, a thirst for knowledge and an array of hobbies, Barron continued to surprise me with his growth and potential.”

It doesn't provide readers with an update on Barron, but the 6-foot-1, 18-year-old is now a freshman at New York University's Stern School of Business, where some of his professors are outspoken critics of his father's economic policies. Barron now lives in Trump Tower rather than a college dorm in lower Manhattan, and Melania has suggested she live with him, telling Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt that she is not an “empty nester.”

Interestingly, the book's dust jacket states of Melania: “She lives with her family in Palm Beach, Florida.”

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