Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar Issue Terse Statement on Josh and Anna’s Baby

A few weeks ago, Anna Duggar welcomed her seventh child while disgraced husband Josh remains on home confinement.

She waited until this week to share the news with her fans and followers.

For most of this year, Anna has been feuding behind the scenes with her in-laws over Josh's arrest and (imminent) trial.

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar might not be on good terms with Anna, but they had something to say about their 22nd grandchild.

Josh Duggar's parents issued a terse statement to Us Weekly this week.

“We are always delighted to welcome another grandchild,” Jim Bob and Michelle expressed on Tuesday, November 16.

The Duggar couple added: “They are each a beautiful treasure from the Lord.”

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar as a Couple

That sounds like the fundamentalist grandparent equivalent of writing "have a great summer!" in a yearbook.

After twenty-two grandchild announcements, you run out of creative comments to make when a new one is born.

And when you're at odds with the newborn's mother and the father may be weeks away from a prison conviction, what else is there to say?

Anna Duggar Baby Photograph

Madyson Lily Duggar was born on October 23.

Anna waited more than three weeks to announce her seventh child's birth.

Josh and Anna are already parents to 12-year-old Mackenzie, 10-year-old Michael, 8-year-old Marcus, 6-year-old Meredith, 4-year-old Mason, and 23-month-old Maryella.

Josh Duggar Parties

Madyson was born on October 23 at 2:39 AM, weighing 7 pounds and 9 ounces.

The newest addition to the extended Duggar brood measured 20 inches in length at birth.

Anna shared the news and those details on her Instagram Story.

Anna Duggar and Awful Husband

To say that things have been tense between Anna and her husband's family over the past seven months is an understatement.

Josh was arrested this spring on charges of receiving and possessing photos and videos depicting the sexual abuse of extremely young girls.

Authorities say that he downloaded these files using peer-to-peer software, which he accessed via a work computer.

Josh and Anna at Court

Anna, however, reportedly believes that Josh is innocent.

She has been seen standing by his side and visiting him during his home confinement, seemingly remaining a devoted wife despite his situation.

And according to various reports, Anna's beliefs extend beyond the (frankly absurd) notion that Josh is a good person and that this is all some sort of misunderstanding.

Josh and Anna Throwback

Some reports say that Anna blames Jim Bob for Josh's arrest.

Either she thinks that he's not supportive enough of his son or that he should have done more to protect Josh -- it's hard to say for sure.

While many have noted how the cult environment in which Josh was raised was the perfect hunting ground for a budding sexual predator, that's clearly not Anna's gripe.

Josh Duggar on Air

According to some reports, Anna believes that Josh is being persecuted or even framed.

While roughly 70% percent of the United States population is Christian in some form, some -- like the Duggars -- insist that they are "persecuted" for their beliefs.

For fundamentalist cults who see themselves as the only "true" Christians and the rest of the world as their spiritual enemy, this belief is even more important.

Anna and Josh Duggar And Baby

Anna has at times been said to blame President Joe Biden, who was not yet in office when Homeland Security raided Josh's workplace, for this.

In all likelihood, it seems unlikely that the President has any idea who Josh is. His closest ties to reality television is that his nephew married an ex-Housewife.

But if you look at what unhinged conspiracy theorists like to say, then arresting Josh is just the first step in a "Communist takeover" that the long-time centrist plans to perpetrate.

Anna Duggar and Josh Duggar and Child

When Josh was first exposed in 2015, first as a sexual predator who molested little girls and then as a porn-addicted cheater, his family stuck by him.

His own victims were forced to speak in his defense.

Some of his siblings even framed the revelation as a spiritual attack -- by the literal devil -- against their family.

Josh Duggar ar Bowling Alley

With that kind of cult brainwashing, it's easy to see why Anna finds it easier to believe that Josh is innocent and to see anyone who disagrees as her enemy.

The alternative would mean that she has had seven children with a depraved sexual predator who is a danger to children -- which the world knows Josh to be anyway.

Besides, in a fringe community that does not believe in divorce, it's not clear what Anna will do if Josh spends the next two decades behind bars where he belongs.