Actress Shailene Woodley bucked the Hollywood standard by defending the Trumps and criticizing the liberals over their hateful reactions to the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
The 32-year-old actress shared the first page of Melania Trump’s letter, which was posted online following the near-assassination during a rally in Pennsylvania, on her Instagram stories.
The Big Little Lies star said she found it to be a ‘beautiful message of human compassion.’
“I only posted the first page of it, because the second page was more political,” Woodley explained to Bustle.
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) July 14, 2024
“The first page was very much like, ‘Look, underneath the political mask is a man, a grandpa, who comes home to his children, his grandchildren, and plays music. The man underneath that mask is my husband.'”
Despite immediate backlash for challenging Hollywood’s Democratic norm, Woodley was more appalled by the reactions of liberals around her to Trump surviving the attempt.
“Oh my God. Literally, I read it and I was like, ‘This is so beautiful.’ I was in circles of people that I deeply respect—friends, colleagues, progressive, very intelligent thinkers, shakers and movers—and many of them were saying, ‘He missed! F****** assassin missed! Maybe it was a setup. Maybe it was a conspiracy.'”
Shailene Woodley defends sharing Melania Trump’s heartfelt message about the attempt on her husband’s life.
“I was in circles of people that I deeply respect — friends, colleagues, progressive, very intelligent thinkers, shakers and movers — and many of them were saying, ‘He… pic.twitter.com/7EeL6ZKWqO
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) September 10, 2024
The actress noted that the shooter, Thomas Crooks, and a former fire chief were killed in addition to Trump being shot.
“I was going: “Have we forgotten that two human lives were taken?” Woodley remarked. “That is sad. That is devastating. I could not understand how people were speaking about something with such passion for death.”
In her letter, Melania wrote about how Crooks tried to “ring out Donald’s passion – his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration.”
“The core facets of my husband’s life – his human side – were buried below the political machine… Let us not forget that differing opinions, policy, and political games are inferior to love.”
“We are all humans, and fundamentally, instinctively, we want to help one another,” she added.
“American politics are only one vehicle that can uplift our communities. Love, compassion, kindness and empathy are necessities.”
After sharing Melania’s statement, Woodley said she “forgot about it because I have a life and I don’t live for what social media says.”
It was only after friends began reaching out to ask if she was doing okay, when she realized the uproar her Instagram story caused.
“There were all these news articles about Melania Trump, and I was like, ‘oh my God, that is now this? Hundreds of articles because I posted about a woman saying she’s grateful her husband is alive? Really?'” Woodley noted.
“It made me shake my head. If [who I am] is not coming through in the way that I’m intending, I’m not going to participate on social media,” she added.
“I participate in my own ways now that maybe are less public because I want to add to the right noise. I don’t want to add to unnecessary noise.”
Woodley, who is an outspoken environmental activist, who was arrested in 2016 for protesting the construction of a North Dakota oil pipeline, said that her “beliefs are pretty well-known.”
Meanwhile, the normally reserved former first lady, has questioned the circumstances surrounding the assassination attempt on her husband, pointing out that there’s a “need to uncover the truth.”
https://t.co/ZCTwZSqZND pic.twitter.com/KKA6anTEYC
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) September 10, 2024
In a video posted on X, promoting her upcoming book, Melania talked about the July 13 attempt on the Republican presidential nominee’s life, calling it “horrible.”
“The attempt to end my husband’s life was a horrible, distressing experience,” Melania stated. “Now, the silence around it feels heavy.”
“I can’t help but wonder, why didn’t law enforcement officials arrest the shooter before the speech?” she questioned. “There is definitely more to the story, and we need to uncover the truth.”
After action reports indicated a local law enforcement officer came into contact Crooks before he began shooting.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle disclosed that agents weren’t stationed on the roof where Crooks fired from due to a “safety concern” over the building’s “sloped roof,” despite the agency identifying the rooftop as a security risk.
The security failures at the event were abundant, with the Secret Service spotting Crooks on the rooftop around 5:52 p.m., 20 minutes before Trump appeared on stage, but no measures were taken to prevent Trump from speaking.
Additionally, Crooks was reportedly “photographed twice by security officers,” was noted as suspicious by law enforcement, and other officers reported via radio that Crooks was acting suspiciously.