By Maureen Mackey | December 4, 2019
It was out of line.
It never should have happened.
Adults should know better.
One could go on.
Law professor Pamela Karlan — one of the four legal scholars called [1] before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday as part of its impeachment inquiry [2] into President Donald Trump — revealed her bias and her emotion by mentioning the president’s youngest son, Barron Trump, during her Capitol Hill testimony.
Here’s what she said during the live televised hearings.
It was a comment that swiftly drew strong rebuke from many corners.
“Contrary to what President Trump has said, Article 2 [of the Constitution] does not give him the power to do anything he wants,” said Karlan, a professor at Stanford Law School. “The Constitution says there can be no titles of nobility. So while the president can name his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron.”
The professor’s ill-advised wisecrack — which she appeared to utter with enormous emotion, oddly — immediately drew strong condemnation, including from first lady Melania Trump [3] herself, who accompanied her husband to the NATO meetings and other events across the Atlantic this week in London.
Here’s what Mrs. Trump — the protective and doting mom of 13-year-old son Barron Trump — said on Twitter about Karlan’s comments.
A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics. Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it.
— Melania Trump 45 Archived (@FLOTUS45) December 4, 2019 [4]
Karlan did later in the hearing offer an apology for her comments, while at the same time going after President Trump and asking him, too, to “apologize” for various things he’s done.
Said Karlan in the late afternoon, toward the end of the hearings, “I want to apologize for what I said earlier about the president’s son. It was wrong of me to do that. I wish the president would apologize, obviously, for the things that he’s done that’s wrong — but I do regret having said that,” she said.
Pamela Karlan: "I want to apologize for what I said earlier about the president's son. It was wrong of me to do that. I wish the president would apologize, obviously, for the things that he's done that's wrong, but I do regret having said that." pic.twitter.com/7lYiRWCKjw [5]
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 4, 2019 [6]
But see also this reaction to the “apology.”
This was not an apology Ms Karlan. Sick and despicable. https://t.co/HUd8QndfPh [7]
— Col. Rob Maness ret. 🇺🇸 (@RobManess) December 5, 2019 [8]
Others also strongly rebuked Karlan — who openly admitted to having donated to Hillary Clinton in the past — for her comments.
“She [Pamela Karlan] thought this [comment] was cute and funny, [but] it was disgusting,” said Pam Bondi, [9] former attorney general for Florida and now a White House adviser, on Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum” on Wednesday evening.
“Only in the minds of crazed liberals is it funny to drag a 13-year-old child into the impeachment nonsense,” said Trump campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany in a statement. “Pamela Karlan thought she was being clever and going for laughs, but she instead reinforced for all Americans that Democrats have no boundaries when it comes to their hatred of everything related to President Trump.”
Melania Trump [10] has spent much of her tenure as first lady on her Be Best program [11], a set of initiatives aimed at America’s young people and children and focused on three main points: well-being, fighting opioid abuse, and positivity on social media.
Check out these comments and tweets about what happened.
"So while [@realDonaldTrump [12]] can name his son Barron, he can't make him a 'Baron.'"
Pamela Karlan targets Barron Trump for supposedly being named after a title of nobility. She was making a comparison between a king and Trump.
There are laughs and applause from the crowd. pic.twitter.com/r7jqvevU1P [13]
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 4, 2019 [14]
First Lady Melania Trump posts a rare critical tweet in ripping impeachment witness Pamela Karlan for broaching her 13-year-old son during today's hearings. https://t.co/5dXdS5l2vn [15]
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) December 4, 2019 [16]
Go @FLOTUS [17]! First Lady Melania Trump defends her son after law professor, Pamela Karlan jokes about Barron during today’s hearing. #MAGA [18] #AmericaFirst [19] #Dobbs [20] pic.twitter.com/jG4HW2RJvR [21]
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) December 5, 2019 [22]
‘You should be ashamed’: Melania Trump calls out Pamela Karlan for bringing Barron into her testimony https://t.co/gOuyOc7hmt [23]
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) December 4, 2019 [24]
Pamela Karlan is obviously a woman full of hate and only provided bias opinions today on Capitol Hill while attacking an innocent child. @FLOTUS [17] is an amazing mother and thankful she called out this professor. https://t.co/Z65EmUOrXw [25]
— Cissie Graham Lynch (@CissieGLynch) December 5, 2019 [26]
Melania Trump Goes Off on Pamela Karlan: 'You Should Be Ashamed' Over 'Very Angry' Hearing Joke Referencing Barron https://t.co/WrgobyOljY [27]
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) December 4, 2019 [28]
Share your thoughts on this story.
This piece originally appeared in LifeZette [29] and is used by permission.
Read more at LifeZette.com:
This American Mom Is Trapped in Haiti and Needs Your Help [30]
Turley to House Judiciary Democrats: ‘You’re Doing Exactly What You’re Accusing the President of Doing’ [31]
Is Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia Going to Buck Trump by Picking His Own Choice for Senate Seat? [32]