President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have different messages for the hundreds of thousands of protesters across the country and yet both of them received backlash from the public.
Melania Trump shared a new message on Twitter for the demonstrators in the streets. Melania condemned the violence and urged everything to demonstrate in peace.
The First Lady said she was "saddened" by scenes of violence in multiple cities, including in Washington D.C. She also asked everyone to focus on peace and healing. The former model did not, however, mention why the people are in the streets.
The demonstrations in at least a dozen cities were sparked by the tragic death of George Floyd, a black American who was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer by kneeling for nearly nine minutes on his neck while in a handcuff. The video of police officer Derek Chauvin's action was caught on camera. He got arrested and charged in connection with Floyd's death.
Many criticized Melania for her latest tweet. Many called her new post insincere.
One said "healing" should start with the apologies from President Trump. Another said the White House used Melania again as the public is more likely to go easy on her than her husband.
This wasn't her first public statement about the growing protests in the country. On Friday, Melania broke her silence on the issue. She, however, did mention Floyd in her first tweet.
In her first public comments on the demonstrations, Melania stressed that America allowed peaceful protests but there is no reason to resort to violence. She also extended her condolences to the family of Floyd.
Following Floyd's death, protests started in Minnesota and it quickly spread across the country. Some have resulted in vandalism, looting, and destruction of property. Many cities have also issued curfews in response to the violence. The protests were further fueled by the president's statement to the state governors to "dominate" and law enforcement to be "much tougher.
Meanwhile, the First Couple also received backlash when they visited the Saint John Paul II National Shrine on Tuesday and laid a ceremonial wreath there. Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory also slammed the Trumps' visit to the shrine.
Melania has been absent from public views for days. She did not accompany her husband in Florida to see the NASA and SpaceX rocket launch on Saturday amidst the nation's unrest.
