Joy Reid takes outrageous shot at Melania over Trump policy
On yesterday's episode of The Joy Reid Show with Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal, Reid criticized Trump's recent efforts to denaturalize citizens, pointing out that the First Lady wasn't born in the US.
Reid argued that taking away Americans' citizenship could set a dangerous precedent of deporting individuals who disagree with the federal government.
Her comments came after a DOJ memo directed agents to 'prioritize denaturalization' for anyone who might 'pose a potential danger to national security'.
Trump has also boasted about stripping citizenship from immigrants who he's claimed obtained their status illegally.
Reid called Trump's remarks on denaturalization 'monarchial-like,' and questioned how far this policy could go.
'If we ever get a Democratic president, they could say, "I don't like Melania Trump. She wasn't born here. She was born in Slovenia. She is a naturalized citizen. She's outta here,"' Reid declared.
She then pointed out that Trump's first wife, Ivana, who died in 2022 and is buried in Trump's New Jersey golf course, also wasn't an American citizen.
'And maybe the next Democratic president says, "You know what? I don't like the Trumps. And so we're gonna denaturalize all of the Trump children, whose mother was a foreigner at the time,"' Reid continued.
Reid also called out Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose grandfather immigrated to the US from Cuba and was later deported because he flew in without a visa.
Rubio was born in Florida after his parents were exiled from Cuba in 1971, making him a product of birthright citizenship. His parents became naturalized citizens four years after his birth.
However, her her remarks were slammed by viewers on X.
'Keep dreaming! Our first lady isn't going anywhere!' one person wrote.
'As if Joy Reid knows what she's talking about,' another added.
'Joy Reid demonstrates she's a stupid fool,' a third said.
Melania immigrated to the US and is the only First Lady who became a citizen through naturalization.
When Melania came to the US in 1996, she obtained a visitor's visa and then a work visa for her modeling career.
She then began the citizenship process in 2000 while she was in a relationship with Trump, an investigative piece by the Washington Post revealed in 2018.
Melania was first granted a green card in March 2001 through the EB-1 program, also known as the 'Einstein visa,' typically reserved for those with 'extraordinary abilities'.
To obtain the visa, applicants must submit evidence of success in their field. Generally, only the top two percent of people in their field qualify.
Melania's path to citizenship has been used as evidence of Trump's hypocrisy by his liberal foes.
Democrat Representative Jasmine Crockett called Melania's 'Einstein visa' into question during a congressional hearing in June.
'Let me remind y'all that Melania the first lady, a model — and when I say model, I'm not talking about Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell-level — applied for and was given an EB-1 visa,' she said.
Crockett explained that recipients of an 'Einstein visa' have often been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, a Pulitzer, or an Olympic medal.
'Last time I checked, the first lady had none of those accolades under her belt. It doesn't take an Einstein to see that the math ain't mathin' here,' Crockett added.
Immigration has been a cornerstone of Trump's first months in office, and the president has continued to ramp up deportation efforts.
He has recently discussed the legalities of ripping away citizenship from immigrants who have been naturalized.
A memo by the Department of Justice from June directed authorities to 'prioritize denaturalization'.
The policy called for the federal government to investigate those who potentially obtained their citizenship illegally and remove 'naturalized criminals.'
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