(The Hill) — Melania Trump is waving off speculation that she didn’t want to hold her husband’s hand, chalking up images of her seemingly “swatting” away former President Donald Trump to a “mere misunderstanding.”
The then-first lady made headlines in 2017 when footage taken during a trip to Tel Aviv appeared to show her brushing away Trump’s hand.
In her memoir, “Melania,” released Tuesday, Trump cast blame on the press for mischaracterizing the hand hoopla: “The media’s obsession with sensationalizing trivial gestures was evident as they distorted a simple moment between myself and my husband.”
“As we walked down the red carpet, I gently waved away his attempt to hold my hand. The media labeled it as a ‘swat’ and used it as supposed evidence of marital discord,” Melania Trump, who tied the knot with the then-New York real estate developer in 2005, said in her book.
“This false narrative had been perpetuated since the beginning of the campaign, and it was disheartening to see how eager people were to believe in it. It was a stark reminder of the extent to which the media could misrepresent even the most insignificant actions,” Trump, 54, said.
“The occurrence, dubbed a ‘swat’ by the gossipmongers, was a mere misunderstanding,” Trump continued of the moment, which also included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, and which quickly went viral.
“Protocol demanded that the president and prime minister walk side by side, with their spouses trailing behind. Yet, unforeseen circumstances led to a slight deviation from the norm. Bibi ended up holding his wife’s hand, and my husband walked beside them — three abreast,” Trump recalled.
“The red carpet simply could not accommodate all four of us abreast. I allowed my husband to continue walking with the prime minister and his wife, opting to take a step back,” she said.
“When he reached out to offer his hand, I declined, indicating that I was perfectly content walking on my own,” Trump said. “It was a minor innocent gesture, nothing more. There were clearly far more interesting topics to discuss.”