A spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump tore into the all-women hosts of “The View” on Tuesday, accusing them of having a “petty, mean-girl spirit” after they mocked an ongoing conspiracy theory about the president’s wife using a body double.
Stephanie Grisham, a representative for the East Wing, criticized the segment in an email to USA Today.
{mosads}”I’ve always found it sad that a group of women spend so much time attacking another woman, whose only goal is to help children,” Grisham wrote. ”Yesterday’s show went beyond the petty, mean-girl spirit that we’ve grown accustomed to.”
“The View” declined to comment.
The response comes after “The View” did a segment on Monday about an ongoing theory that the first lady occasionally uses an “impostor” to stand in for her doing events.
“You mean there are two women who have to pretend they’re listening to [President Trump]?” Behar quipped.
“When there’s a rumor like this, and memes all over the place, I think it catches on because there’s an element of truth to the idea that she doesn’t want to spend time with him,” Behar added.
The co-hosts at the table agreed that the theory is false, but conservative commentator Ana Navarro added that “political reality is so absurd, you would almost believe anything. I think this is crazy and it’s absurd, but it’s also funny.”
The theory spread online after the Trumps visited Beauregard, Ala., on Friday after a massive tornado tore through the state and killed 23 people.
The hashtag “FakeMelania” began circulating on Twitter, showing the first lady wearing large sunglasses at the site.
Trump himself on Tuesday morning accused the media, without evidence, of fanning the flames of the conspiracy with “photoshopped pictures.”