The White House has issued a statement urging people to leave President Donald Trump’s 10-year-old son alone after a now-suspended Saturday Night Live writer snarked about Barron Trump via Twitter.
“It is a longstanding tradition that the children of Presidents are afforded the opportunity to grow up outside of the political spotlight,” The White House office of the press secretary reminded today in a statement. “The White House fully expects this tradition to continue. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.”
Saturday Night Live has not commented on the mater, but a person familiar the situation told Deadline that SNL writer Katie Rich is suspended indefinitely, after tweeting the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration: “Barron will be this country’s first homeschool shooter.”
Rich, who has been with the NBC late-night show about three years, and worked exclusively on the show’s “Weekend Update” faux-newscast, was not listed in the credits for the episode that aired the next night. Rich on Monday tweeted a public apology for the joke, saying, ” I sincerely apologize for the insensitive tweet. I deeply regret my actions & offensive words. It was inexcusable & I’m so sorry.”
NBC News noted Monday morning that Barron’s appearance at last Friday’s inaugural ceremony and parade prompted memes and social media posts mocking him. TV news outlets, however, seemed charmed by Trump’s son, especially as he waved to fans when the First Family got out of The Beast to walk a few blocks of the parade route, near Trump International Hotel.
Among those who had come to Barron’s defense over the weekend in the wake of the offensive tweet was Hillary Clinton daughter Chelsea:
