Melania Trump is doubling down amid her bizarre (non?)-charity controversy!
The former First Lady of the United States took to Twitter over the weekend with a very pointed message directed at the New York Times regarding her newly-canceled rescheduled charity fundraiser!
As Perezcious readers will recall, Donald Trump‘s wife came under fire last month after the Times reported a bombshell about a forthcoming charity fundraiser connected to her that was evidently being put on by an unregistered organization. Whip Fundraising, the org behind the “Tulips and Topiaries” event, apparently failed to receive non-profit status from the state of Florida prior to announcing their intention to raise funds for foster children. And you can’t just hold a charity event without that — the state has to keep people from running scams where they claim the money is going to needy children but then just pocketing it. Sadly, there are such people in the world…
Related: NY Attorney General Claims ‘Significant’ Amount Of Fraud Found In Trump Family Biz!
So, when the org started selling off $50,000 VIP tickets (!!!) to an April “flowers, tea, and bubbles” charity event in Naples — but without a confirmed real charity organization — it’s understandable why the NYT launched an investigation into the situation!
Last week, a message went up on the event’s website that the original April event had been nixed — leading many to assume being outed as a scam had caused them to call the whole thing off.
But now, there’s a new development! On Friday, Melania shared a message clarifying that the event is not canceled, but has actually been rescheduled for December.
Explaining the planning situation surrounding the “High Tea” party, Melania’s office attested:
“The High Tea event is not canceled. It is scheduled for December 4, 2022. As a result of the New York Times’ inaccurate reporting, we captured the attention of way more people than expected and required a larger venue. Thank you to all of the incredible supporters of foster care children.”
As a result of the New York Times’ inaccurate reporting, we captured the attention of way more people than expected and required a larger venue.
Thank you to all of the incredible supporters of foster care children.
— Office of Melania Trump (@OfficeofMelania) March 4, 2022
The old “fake news,” eh? Well that’s not exactly an original angle being delivered by Melania’s team. After all, her husband has whined about the media endlessly for years now.
Related: Melania’s Former Spokesperson Tells ALL!
So what’s changed, then? Well, it sounds like Whip Fundraising actually has finally done some sort of work to get themselves in position to collect donations regarding this event. So that’s good!
Erin Moffet, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which oversees non-profit organizations in the state, told the Times in a follow-up that the state’s investigation into the org is now “closed” following the charity’s recent changes (below):
“[Whip Fundraising] was not registered as a professional solicitor or a fund-raising consultant, and they are working to rectify that.”
And Brad Keltner, the head of Whip Fundraising, backed Melania’s Twitter claim that the event was actually rescheduled in order to book a bigger venue, telling the NYT:
“Florida state did not shut us down. This was an internal decision made due to overwhelming response that we were not prepared to handle.”
Uh huh…
Anyways, it would seem as though the case might be closed on this one.
It’s just crazy to us that Melania is so taken aback by normal, routine investigative journalism work being done by a major newspaper — especially when you consider her family’s AWFUL history being allegedly involved with super-sketchy charity deals! Just saying!
What do U make of all this donation drama, Perezcious readers??
Sound OFF about it down in the comments (below)…
[Image via ABC News/YouTube]
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