Melania Trump’s visa has been getting a lot of attention lately.
A Democrat went after her pretty hard, and now people online are digging into how she actually got into the U.S. in the first place.
RELATED STORIES
A Democrat publicly questioned Melania Trump’s visa
Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Texas didn’t hold back. She called out the Trump administration during a hearing and brought up how aggressively they were going after immigrants.
She wondered out loud if Melania had been treated differently. Then she pushed her Republican colleagues on the immigration committee, basically asking why they weren’t talking about the President’s own family when it came to immigration “integrity.”
Melania’s visa was an EB-1 reserved for the highly acclaimed
Turns out, Melania came to the U.S. on an EB-1 visa.
That one’s often nicknamed the “Einstein visa,” because it’s usually for people who’ve done something major like win an Oscar or a Pulitzer, or have made big achievements in fields like science, art, sports, or business. That’s what the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says.
Crockett argued Melania did not meet EB-1 criteria
Crockett wasn’t buying it. She pointed out that Melania didn’t really seem to qualify for that kind of visa.
She said: “You’re supposed to have some sort of significant achievement, like being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer, being an Olympic medalist, or having other sustained extraordinary abilities and success in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.”
“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 EB1 visa.”
“It doesn’t take an Einstein to see that the math ain’t mathin’ here.”
Melania became a US citizen in 2006
Eventually, Melania did become a U.S. citizen back in July 2006.
People online reacted strongly to the visa questions. Many agreed with Crockett and felt Trump’s tough talk on immigration didn’t exactly line up with his personal life.
Trump was accused of hypocrisy over immigration stance
Lots of people weren’t shy about calling the former president a hypocrite.
They pointed out how he’s been super strict on immigration, especially from nearby countries, while his own wife came from abroad under pretty special circumstances.
Online commentators highlighted contradictions in Trump’s personal life
One Reddit user commented: “The profound hypocrisy of Donald Trump’s vicious campaign against immigrants when his first and third wives were immigrants.”
Another said: “Can you imagine if the turns were tabled and it was a Democratic candidate with the same immigrant and nuptial situation? Boy howdy…”
A third commented: “Send her [to] Guantanamo Bay!
“Or is that only for poor illegal immigrants? Those married to rich people get different treatment?”
While another joked: “Looking forward to seeing video of her tackled outside of her favorite nail salon by ICE thugs in masks.”
