'The View' co-host Yvette Nicole Brown implies Melania Trump is a former 'mistress'

A controversy surrounding Melania Trump accused by “The View” co-host Yvette Nicole Brown of being a former “mistress” has escalated as White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders fires back. Tensions are high between Sanders and Brown and apparently, the talk show is caught in the middle.

First Lady Melania Trump is the subject of a heated exchange between “The View’s” substitute host, Yvette Nicole Brown and White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. In response to an exclusive interview Mrs. Trump gave to ABC’s 20/20 which has yet to be aired in its entirety, Brown suggested the first lady was a former mistress. This didn’t sit well with Sanders who slammed the host and the show for its “disgusting attacks.”

THE CONTROVERSIAL INTERVIEW

Trump sat down for a one-on-one with ABC News’ Tom Llamas to talk about her thoughts on the #MeToo movement and one of the topics brought up was her husband Donald Trump’s alleged infidelities, including his reported affair with Stormy Daniels. When asked about her thoughts concerning the matter, Trump replied,

“It is not a concern or a focus of mine.”

“I am a mother and First Lady, and I have much more important things to think about and to do.”

THE CONTROVERSIAL COMMENT

This segment of the interview was aired as a teaser on “The View” where Llamas appeared as a guest. And in response, Brown released her controversial opinion stating,

“Is it possible that she’s not concerned with his mistresses because she was one of them? Is that possible that it doesn’t affect her in that way?”

Brown’s co-hosts were stunned by her response and opted to veer away from the sensitive issue. Abby Huntsman was quick to ask a different question to Llamas though there was really no turning back from that point.

ON "DISGUSTING ATTACKS" AND "RESPECT"

Soon after, a spokesperson for Trump tweeted and suggested that Brown do some research first before making accusations.

“Check your facts before you accuse someone of being a mistress. She deserves your respect & certainly not your lies. Disgusting.”

But Brown wasn’t backing down. “I don’t respect her,” she responds before tweeting,

“I stand by every word I said. My mom taught me that respect is earned. And thankfully we live in a nation–at least for now–where I don’t have to bow down to dear leader or his third wife.”

It didn’t take long before Sanders intervened and slammed Brown and “The View” for what she deemed as “disgusting attacks.”

“Sad @TheView continues their disgusting attacks on @FLOTUS. The left’s “war on women” they disagree with is a disgrace. @FLOTUS is strong, accomplished, and has a lot more class than the women who bully her”

BROWN VS. THE WHITE HOUSE

This motivated Brown to fire back and take sole credit for her comments, clearing the show of any involvement. She also took pride in the fact that the White House was paying so much attention to her comments and she challenged Sanders to address her directly.

“An attack from ‪@PressSecis a personal badge of honor. I knew before that I was on the right side of history. Her snarky disapproval seals it. BTW the views expressed were mine, Sarah & I own them. Leave ‪@TheViewout of it. Come for me. The twitter lines are open!”

In a separate tweet, she also suggested the White House pay closer attention to more important matters rather than refuting her opinion.

“Bigger issue is this: doesn't @PressSec and Steph have better things to do than whine about the truth some unknown black chick spit? Might I point you both in the direction of #Flint Michigan? Their water is STILL undrinkable, BTW. But #LetThemEatCake amirite?”

IN DEFENSE OF THE FIRST LADY

Brown’s statement on “The View” caused an awkward moment on air but Llamas came to the defense of Trump, regardless of Brown’s opinion.

“I do want to say something. There was a comment made at this table today about Mrs. Trump. I just want to say, whether you like her or you don’t like her she deserves our respect because she is our first lady.”

IS SHE A MISTRESS?

Just to put things in perspective, we tried to dig deeper and find out how Mrs. Trump met Mr. Trump and if Brown’s opinions were valid. According to a report by Elite Daily, the pair who married in 2005 met in 1998 while President Trump had been separated from his second wife, Marla Maples for about a year. He was also dating another woman at the time, a Norwegian business heiress named Celina Midelfart. Mr. Trump was smitten the moment he met Mrs. Trump at a New York Fashion Week party. At that point, he wasn’t thinking of the woman he was dating or the supermodel Mrs. Trump was sitting next to at the party that he was also supposed to meet. He told Larry King in a 2005 interview he “went crazy” over the first lady. Mr. Trump reportedly asked for Mrs. Trump’s number but she refused to give it to him knowing he was with a date. Instead, she told him to give her his number and he gave her all the phone numbers of his many properties. They soon went on a first date and the rest is history.

BUSY WITH ELEPHANTS

Amid all the ongoing mistress drama, Mrs. Trump was busy feeding baby elephants in Kenya. In fact, it turned out to be quite a scare for the first lady who was almost caught off balance when one of the elephants bumped into her while she was feeding it. It didn’t seem to bother her one bit as she was enjoying the experience, according to CNN’s Kate Bennett who described the first lady in a tweet as extremely happy.

"I have covered @flotus for almost two years and have never seen her smile and laugh more than she is now with these baby elephants."

Trump clearly still has a lot of reasons to smile. As for Brown’s latest comment, it would be so much easier for the first lady to go on with her duties than to respond to the mistress issue, much like she shrugged off Llamas’ question about her husband’s infidelities.