--- title: Melania Trump Attacks Media as 'Opportunists' description: First Lady Melania Trump criticized "opportunists" in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. canonical: https://time.com/5478642/melania-trump-hannity-interview/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-12-13T13:15:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:02.123Z article:section: Politics og:title: Melania Trump Attacks Media as 'Opportunists' in New Interview og:description: First Lady Melania Trump criticized "opportunists" in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. og:url: https://time.com/5478642/melania-trump-hannity-interview/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e51ff332652aaac/6989416a929fad7d2abf24fd/melania-trump-hannity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5244 og:image:height: 2950 og:image:alt: President Trump Hosts A Hanukkah Reception At The White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Melania Trump Attacks Media as 'Opportunists' in New Interview twitter:description: First Lady Melania Trump criticized "opportunists" in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e51ff332652aaac/6989416a929fad7d2abf24fd/melania-trump-hannity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Melania Trump Attacks Media as 'Opportunists,' but Admits She Sometimes Disagrees With Husband's 'Tone' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Melania Trump Isn't Surprised People 'Ridicule' Her for Promoting 'Responsible Online Behavior' [Watch (HLS stream): Melania Trump Isn't Surprised People 'Ridicule' Her for Promoting 'Responsible Online Behavior'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4rrVswU0.m3u8) (1:15)  _Published 2018-11-16. Melania Trump says she’s OK with the criticism and ridicule she has received for tackling online bullying and remains committed to the issue because “it will provide a better world for our children.”_ by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 13, 2018 1:15 PM UTC  First lady Melania Trump listens as President Trump speaks during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House on December 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. First lady Melania Trump listens as President Trump speaks during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House on December 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. Pool—Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 13, 2018 1:15 PM UTC First Lady Melania Trump criticized “opportunists,” including journalists, book authors and comedians, whom she accused of “using my name or my family name to advance themselves” in a new interview. Speaking with [Fox News anchor Sean Hannity](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/melania-trump-says-she-does-what-i-think-is-right-despite-facing-criticism-from-the-public-media) aboard the aircraft carrier [_USS George H.W. Bush_](http://time.com/5472402/george-hw-bush-aircraft-carrier-tribute/), where the First Lady flew on Wednesday to greet military members, Trump [derided the media](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO4quvokpBo), saying journalists “like to focus on the gossip.” “The problem is they’re writing history and it’s not correct,” she said. Her words are similar to President Donald Trump’s attitude toward the media. Trump has [repeatedly attacked](http://time.com/5434077/donald-trump-bomb-packages-media-politics/) the press as “fake news” and referred to them as the “enemy of the people.” The First Lady also said she sometimes disagrees with her husband’s tone, and will give him her take on the news, along with advice. “I follow what’s going on,” she said. “I give my husband advice and my honest opinion. And sometimes he listens and sometimes he doesn’t.” ## Transcript Am so glad that the organisations such as the family Online Safety Institute can gather children and technology companies together to answer one vital question. How can we teach our children, not just the importance of online safety but the need. For online responsibility. The best is dedicated to shining a light on programs that address this very question. Teaching children the importance of being safe and positive online is crucial to creating a better future for the next generation. As I have said before, it is not news or surprising to me that critics and the media have chosen to ridicule me for speaking out on this issue. And that's okay. I remain committed to tackling this topic because it will provide a better world for our children. And I hope that I like, I do. You will consider using the [ UNKNOWN ] words as motivation, to do all you can to bring awareness and understanding about responsible online behavior. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5478642/melania-trump-hannity-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5478642/melania-trump-hannity-interview/"},"headline":"Melania Trump Attacks Media as 'Opportunists,' but Admits She Sometimes Disagrees With Husband's 'Tone'","datePublished":"2018-12-13T13:15:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:53:02.123Z","description":"First Lady Melania Trump criticized \"opportunists\" in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity.","url":"https://time.com/5478642/melania-trump-hannity-interview/","keywords":["White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e51ff332652aaac/6989416a929fad7d2abf24fd/melania-trump-hannity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e51ff332652aaac/6989416a929fad7d2abf24fd/melania-trump-hannity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Hosts A Hanukkah Reception At The White House","caption":"President Trump Hosts A Hanukkah Reception At The White House","creditText":"Pool—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5478642/melania-trump-hannity-interview/","name":"Melania Trump Attacks Media as 'Opportunists,' but Admits She Sometimes Disagrees With Husband's 'Tone'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Melania Trump Isn't Surprised People 'Ridicule' Her for Promoting 'Responsible Online Behavior'","description":"Melania Trump says she’s OK with the criticism and ridicule she has received for tackling online bullying and remains committed to the issue because “it will provide a better world for our children.”","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/4rrVswU0/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-11-16T01:29:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4rrVswU0.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5478642/melania-trump-hannity-interview/","duration":"PT1M15S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5478642/melania-trump-hannity-interview/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```