Former First Lady Melania Trump released a statement on Friday calling the media “dream killers” who are trying to “cancel” her following reports of an investigation by officials in Florida into her charity that does not exist.
The New York Times reported that Trump was selling tickets to a charity event in Florida where profits were supposedly going toward the “Fostering the Future” scholarship programme, a part of her “Be Best” initiative started during her tenure as first lady.
But The Times reported that there are no charities with the names “Be Best” or “Fostering the Future” registered in Florida. A Florida consumer services spokesperson told the outlet the agency was “currently investigating whether this event involves an entity operating in violation of Chapter 496, Florida Statutes”. The statute requires any “charitable organization or sponsor” to register with the state before engaging in any solicitation for donations.
In her statement on Friday, Trump accused the media of continuing to publish “inaccurate, misleading, and outright incorrect articles about my work.”
The media has created a narrative whereby I am trying to act in an illegal or unethical manner,” she continued. “That portrayal is simply untrue and adversely affects the children I hope to support. Those who attack my initiatives and create the appearance of impropriety are quite literally dream killers. They have canceled the hopes and dreams of children by trying to cancel me.”
Melania said an Oklahoma school that had initially agreed to accept donations from her for the “Fostering the Future” scholarship no longer wants to work with her following the report.
“Recently, a computer science school founded in Silicon Valley with a campus in Oklahoma agreed to work with Fostering the Future. Multiple scholarships were going to be granted through the school’s preferred designated fund, based in Tulsa, with the first class of students enrolling in Fall 2022,” Trump wrote. “I had signed the Designated Fund Agreement and was waiting for the countersignature when the school informed me it would no longer participate. They would not accept scholarship dollars for deserving students—even as an anonymous gift. It was made clear to me that the school’s Board of Directors organized a politically motivated decision.”
She said she was “disappointed but not surprised” by the school’s decision since “this is not the first time where politics got in the way of my mission to support children.”
