The GOP staffer who ignited a firestorm of controversy after criticizing and “slut-shaming” Obama’s daughters is to resign today, NBC reports.
Elizabeth Lauten posted on Facebook that Sasha and Malia Obama were dressed for “a spot at a bar” during the turkey-pardoning ceremony on Thanksgiving, and should “try showing a little class.”
In the now-deleted post, she called on the pair to “respect the part you play. Then again, your mother and father don’t respect their positions very much … so I’m guessing you’re coming up a little short in the ‘good role model’ department.”
“Dress like you deserve respect,” Lauten added, “not a spot at a bar.”
The communications director for Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.), Lauten subsequently apologized in another (and now also deleted) Facebook post, Talking Points Memo reported.
“I reacted to an article and quickly judged the two ladies in a way that I would never have wanted to be judged myself as a teenager,” she wrote. “After many hours of prayer, talking to my parents and re-reading my words online, I can see more clearly how hurtful my words were.”
Watch footage of the ceremony here:
The response to Lauten’s comments was highly critical. Daily Kos and Refinery29 called her comments akin to “slut-shaming” Obama’s teenage daughters over their appearances.
The staffer’s apology was “to all of those who I have hurt and offended with my words,” but her “pledge to learn and grow” wasn’t enough to save her: NBC is reporting she is to resign later today.
H/T NBC | Screengrab via PBS NewsHour/YouTube
