Rep. Anna Paulina Luna slams The Daily Beast for twisting a considerate gesture from President Trump into something inappropriate, calling into question media integrity and reporting standards.
Key Takeaways
- Rep. Luna clarified that Trump appropriately offered his airplane bed when she was experiencing pre-eclampsia symptoms during pregnancy, with her husband present.
- The Daily Beast and other outlets portrayed Trump’s “don’t tell Melania” joke as inappropriate, prompting Luna to publicly condemn the misrepresentation.
- Community Notes corrected The Daily Beast’s portrayal, highlighting Luna’s public response to what she called “disgusting” coverage.
- The controversy stems from excerpts in a forthcoming book by Axios reporter Alex Isenstadt titled “Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power.”
- White House officials dismissed the book as a “work of fiction” and an attempt to profit from Trump’s name.
Media Misrepresentation Sparks Backlash
Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna has publicly criticized The Daily Beast for what she describes as deliberate misrepresentation of an interaction between her and President Donald Trump. The article, written by Breaking News Intern Erkki Forster, suggested impropriety in Trump’s offer to let Luna use his bed on his airplane when she felt unwell due to pregnancy complications. Luna condemned the portrayal as misleading and harmful, noting that the exchange occurred in front of her husband and was entirely appropriate given her medical condition.
SHOCKING claims erupt as a new book alleges Trump offered Rep. Anna Paulina Luna his bed 'in secret'
Luna, pregnant with pre-eclampsia at the time, is outraged — SLAMS it as a ‘gross hit piece,’ commending Trump’s compassion and CONDEMNING shoddy journalism pic.twitter.com/ih3wzfSvqO
— RT (@RT_com) March 17, 2025
The controversy centers around Trump’s reported comment, “If you need a bed to lay down in, there’s one here on the plane. If you feel sick and you need to lay there, you can lay on it. Just don’t tell Melania. She doesn’t like other women on my bed,” which Luna maintains was clearly a joke made in a completely innocent context while she was experiencing pre-eclampsia symptoms during pregnancy.
Luna’s Strong Response
Luna took to social media to address the situation directly, “I seldom respond to nasty headlines because I don’t like giving trash credibility, however, being that there is allegedly a book coming out with me named and attacking @POTUS, his marriage, our first lady, and frankly implying something distasteful about me, I am responding”, wrote Luna. Her forceful rebuttal emphasized that neither The Daily Beast nor the book’s author contacted her for comment before publication, a journalistic oversight she found particularly troubling.
Luna further criticized The Daily Beast’s headline “Don’t Tell Melania: Trump Once Offered Rising MAGA Star His Bed” as deliberately provocative and misleading. She noted that Community Notes, Twitter’s fact-checking mechanism, had added context to correct the record on social media, indicating that others also recognized the mischaracterization of events.
Broader Media Integrity Questions
The dispute raises broader questions about media integrity and journalistic standards. Luna’s complaint that she was not contacted for comment before publication highlights concerns about thorough fact-checking and fair representation. White House communications director Steven Cheung denounced books about Trump as “works of fiction” designed to profit from the president’s name rather than accurately report events.
This incident adds to ongoing debates about media bias and responsibility in political reporting. For conservative audiences who have long expressed concerns about unfair treatment of Republican figures in mainstream media, Luna’s experience appears to confirm suspicions about narrative manipulation and sensationalism at the expense of context and accuracy.
Sources:
‘Don’t Tell Melania’: Trump Once Offered Rising MAGA Star His Bed
Anna Paulina Luna Responds to Trump Bed Allegations
