'No Way': Melania Reportedly Refused to Appear at Trump's Side Following the Access Hollywood Tape

Melania Trump refused to appear with husband Donald Trump in the wake of the infamous Access Hollywood tape, according to Bob Woodward’s book of oh-so-juicy White House intrigue and strife. Mostly strife. And yelling, lots of yelling.

The Guardian reports that Melania was not interested in being used as a pawn to clean up then-candidate Trump’s image.

Melania Trump, the president’s wife, is described as being devoted to her son, Barron – and adamantly opposed during the campaign to appearing on television at her husband’s side as part of damage control after the publication of an Access Hollywood tape in which he described groping women “by the pussy”.

“‘Not doing that,’ Melania said in her Slovenian accent, dismissively waving her hand,” Woodward writes. “‘No way. No, no, no.’”

Perhaps her public statement post-pussy grab was the next best thing, a happy medium:

The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me. This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world.

Did she really accept that apology, though? Seems like the answer might be, “No way. No, no, no.”

Just last week, Trump continued to question the legitimacy of the Access Hollywood tape, accusing NBC of leaking it “illegally.” It’s yet another instance of the president hoisting attacks on media outlets he believes report on him unfairly (generally, every media outlet except Fox News, Breitbart, Daily Caller, and Drudge Report). And with these dire attacks against the “lying media” come threats to free speech in the form of meandering musings on Twitter; the media is the “enemy of the people.”

Details of Trump White House drama revealed in Woodward’s book, Fear, continue to come out in waves. The latest: Trump suspects that “the snakes are everywhere.”