GOP aide quits after criticizing Obama daughters
WASHINGTON – An aide to a Republican congressman resigned Monday after her Facebook post criticizing President Barack Obama’s daughters touched off a backlash.
Elizabeth Lauten, communications director to Rep. Stephen Fincher of Tennessee, said 16-year-old Malia Obama and her sister Sasha, 13, should have shown more “class” at a turkey-pardoning ceremony last week at the White House.
Addressing her comments directly to the Obama girls, Lauten wrote that they should “respect the part you play,” and added: “Then again your mother and father don’t respect their positions very much, or the nation for that matter, so I’m guessing you’re coming up a little short in the ‘good role model’ department.”
Lauten also urged the Obama girls to “dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar.”
Lauten later apologized for the comments and deleted the original post, which drew harsh criticism across social media.
Jessica Carter, chief of staff for Fincher, said Monday that Lauten resigned.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he was surprised that a congressional staffer would use a Thanksgiving-themed event to criticize the first family, adding that it’s “pretty much common sense” that the first daughters should be off-limits to criticism.
Roy Herron, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, called Lauten’s criticism of the Obama daughters “cruel, outrageous and inexcusable.”
Sean Spicer, communications director for the Republican National Committee, tweeted Monday that “children, especially the first daughters, are off limits.”
But while Lauten’s comments were “inappropriate and insensitive, the mainstream media’s coverage of this story is appalling,” Spicer said.