OPINION:
It’s hard to get much more xenophobic than this. CNN analyst April Ryan described Melania Trump as “not culturally American” Monday night when analyzing the First Lady’s anti-cyber-bullying initiative.
“She’s well aware of his cyber-bullying. He’s considered by some, well many I would say in different sectors, one of the biggest bullies. He will call you out in a moment’s notice and she stood in front of him and basically said she wants to show young people how it’s done and do it right and they will pick up those habits. I wonder if the president will change.”
This is a first lady who is not culturally American, but she is learning the ways… and this is not just an American issue. These are not just American issues. These are international issues. Cyber-bullying is an international issue. Social media is international and also the opioid addiction issue, so it’s not just here. But, it’s abroad as well and we’ll see if she takes this message abroad as well.”
Host Erin Burnett didn’t react to the odd, non sequitur and moved on to the next question for Ryan, but the “not culturally America” comment deserves some reflection.
The segment was supposed to be an analysis of Mrs. Trump’s announcement Monday of her “Be Best” initiative designed to help children navigate the complicated and dangerous worlds of opioid addictions and social media pressures. The First Lady’s country of origin would normally not be relevant in this discussion.
Trump, who was born in Slovenia, moved to Manhattan in 1996 and is a naturalized American citizen.
Also, what is “not culturally America” supposed to mean? We’ve been told by the Left for decades that America is a “multi-cultural” nation. In fact, we’ve been told that there is no “American culture” but a beautiful mosaic of multiple cultures represented by Americans and non-citizens living here. We are told there is no official American language.
Perhaps Ryan can explain what, exactly, “culturally American” means in this context. Pity she wasn’t asked.
For Ryan to throw out a “not culturally American” description for a woman who has called America her home for over twenty years is bizarre and curious. It makes no real sense in the context of Ryan’s “analysis” of Trump’s speech. And without any challenge from her colleague, Burnett, the CNN viewer is left wondering exactly what Ryan meant with her remark.
One thing we can count on though. If a Fox News host or contributor had made the remark, screams of “xenophobia” would be hurled from the likes of Ryan and Burnett and everyone else on their network.
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