Q: Did the White House website feature a “QVC ad” for jewelry sold by Melania Trump?
A: No. The first lady’s biography page initially said that her jewelry line was sold on QVC. However, that reference has since been removed.
FULL QUESTION
Was a link put on the official White House website linking to a site to purchase jewelry from the Trump family?
FULL ANSWER
When Donald Trump officially became the 45th president of the United States on Jan. 20, the White House website was changed to include information about him and first lady, Melania Trump. Her biography page, which includes details about her college education, modeling career and charity work, also touted her as a “successful entrepreneur” who “launched her own jewelry collection” on the QVC television shopping network in 2010.
That information was then twisted by some — including the liberal Learn Progress website, which falsely claimed that “advertisements for Melania’s jewelry collection are on the White House’s website.”
“The White House website is now a carnival barker. Step right up and see the best of cheap jewelry and a modeling career,” the story said. “This act is unimaginable. We all knew that Trump would profit from the presidency, but to use the White House website as a QVC ad goes way too far.”
But anyone who clicked on the link in the Learn Progress article to Melania Trump’s page would not have found a “QVC ad” for her jewelry. Instead, a passage near the end of Trump’s bio read: “Melania is also a successful entrepreneur. In April 2010, Melania Trump launched her own jewelry collection, ‘Melania™ Timepieces & Jewelry,’ on QVC.”
As the Washington Post and others reported, the page was later revised, according to a spokesperson for Trump, “out of an abundance of caution” so not to appear as though the website was promoting the first lady’s jewelry collection. It now reads: “Melania is also a successful entrepreneur. In April 2010, Melania Trump launched her own jewelry collection.”
The page never featured any images of the jewelry, nor did it provide links to the items on QVC, as the LearnProgress article suggested.
In fact, QVC doesn’t currently sell Trump’s jewelry, a company spokeswoman told the Post. A search for “Melania Trump” on the QVC website yields zero results.
Sources
LearnProgress. “CORRUPTION: Trump Using White House Website to Sell Melania’s Jewelry. Seriously.” Accessed 30 Jan 2017.
Klein, Betsy. “White House site updated to remove Melania Trump QVC reference.” CNN. 20 Jan 2017.
Snell, Kelsey. “White House website touts Melania Trump’s modeling and jewelry line.” Washington Post. 20 Jan 2017.
WhiteHouse.gov. “First Lady Melania Trump.” Accessed 30 Jan 2017.