An abundance of caution

The selflessness and public spirit of the new administration, along with its dignity and good taste:

Visitors to the newly revamped White House website get more than a simple rundown of first lady Melania Trump’s charitable works and interests — they also get a list of her magazine cover appearances and details on her jewelry line at QVC.

Her biography starts with traditional details, such as her date of birth in her native country of Slovenia and information about her background as a model. That’s when the brief backgrounder takes a promotional turn. The website includes a lengthy list of brands that hired her as a model and several of the magazines in which she appeared, including the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

It is not uncommon for the White House to note the accomplishments of the first lady in her official biography, but Trump’s decision to include a detailed list of her media appearances and branded retail goods is unusual.

Well, and let’s get real: being photographed is not an “accomplishment.” It’s just being photographed.

Early on Friday, the website listed the brand names of Trump’s jewelry lines sold on QVC. But the website was updated after the publication of this story to remove any mention of QVC.

The original passage read: “Melania is also a successful entrepreneur. In April 2010, Melania Trump launched her own jewelry collection, ‘Melania™ Timepieces & Jewelry,’ on QVC,” the site read.

The updated version of the site now says: “Melania is also a successful entrepreneur. In April 2010, Melania Trump launched her own jewelry collection.”

My god they are so stupid – they just cannot get it right. Remember when Ivanka Trump promoted the bracelet she wore in a 60 Minutes interview? When there was an uproar they said it was just some underling at the company. Cue hollow laughter. I suppose in a day or two they’ll be selling their unwashed bed sheets on eBay.

The changes come at a time when questions have been raised by critics about the ethical implications of the family’s business entanglements. A spokesperson for the First Lady said the reference to her jewelry line was intended as a factual statement, not an endorsement and the website was updated out of an abundance of caution.

An abundance? They call that an abundance? They call it an abundance of caution to refrain from advertising jewelry on the White House website?

It’s the empire of sleaze, along with everything else that’s wrong with it.

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