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Melania Trump spoke out on #MeToo and got it horribly wrong.

She made a Trumpian “both sides” argument.

via The White House/Flickr

While galavanting through Africa, First Lady Melania Trump took time out from modeling her colonialism casual look at World Heritage sites to speak with ABC News.


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When asked about the #MeToo movement, Trump gave a Trumpian “both sides” response. “I support the women, and they need to be heard,” Trump said. “We need to support them. And, you know, also men, not just women.”

So, according to Trump, women should be supported, but also the men they accuse?

Sound familiar?

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“I do stand with women,” Trump said. “But we need to show the evidence. You cannot just say to somebody, ‘I was sexually assaulted or you did that to me,’ because sometimes the media goes too far and the way they portray some stories, it’s not correct.”

No one thinks its right to falsely accuse people of sexual assault. But Trump obviously doesn’t know how rarely false accusations occur.

According to a study by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 63% of sexual assaults are never reported and only 2 to 10% percent of reports are false.

So, instead of taking a stand against people who make false accusations, as a woman in power, she should encourage more victims to report their cases to authorities.

Melania Trump is also way off base in her call for “evidence.”

Would a grope in the office leave any type of evidence?

Would someone abused as a child be able to provide DNA evidence?

What evidence would Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged sexual assault of Christine Blasey Ford have left behind?

If a man exposes himself to a group of women, is there evidence of that?

On a deeper level, the evidence criteria is a major reason why people do not report being sexually abused to authorities.

Many are afraid they won’t be believed and be chastised for having an uncorroborated story.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Melania’s interview.

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