Melania Trump mocked for getting ‘Einstein visa’ in House hearing

As Donald Trump continues his sweeping crackdown on immigration Melania Trump s still-mysterious immigration journey became both a talking point and a punchline at a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington Wednesday During a debate on how to restore integrity in the immigration process U S Rep Jasmine Crockett D-Texas announced it was a joke that her Republican colleagues were not concerned about the lack of integrity when it comes to the president s family s visas the Daily Beast communicated That s when Crockett revived longstanding questions over how the Slovenian-born Melania Trump obtained obtained an EB visa the so-called Einstein visa in The first lady was granted the visa just five years after she moved to the United States to become a model and three years after she began dating Trump then a rich and powerful New York City real estate developer She eventually became a U S citizen in after marrying Trump and having a baby with him FILE Rep Jasmine Crockett D-Texas speaks at the Democratic National Convention Monday Aug in Chicago AP Photo Stephanie Scarbrough File But as Crockett pointed out Melania Trump never attained the supermodel status of Tyra Banks Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell which presumably could have made her worthy of an Einstein visa A insufficient moments earlier Crockett lambasted her Republican colleagues for being OK with Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE snatching lawful visa holders off the streets and throwing them into unmarked vans She also noted Integrity is not revoking visas based on social media posts that hurt somebody s little feelings because kids decided they required to go after Trump or this administration We have a thing called free speech in this country In discussing Melania Trump s EB visa Crockett declared Let me tell you how you receive an Einstein visa You re supposed to have selected sort of vital achievement like being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer being an Olympic medalist or having other sustained extraordinary abilities and success in sciences arts teaching business or athletics Last time I checked the first lady had none of those accolades under her belt According to Crockett Melania Trump s modeling career didn t translate into a critical achievement or show extraordinary abilities Melania the first lady a model and when I say model I m not talking about Tyra Banks Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell-level applied for and was given an EB visa Crockett disclosed It doesn t take an Einstein to see that the math ain t mathin here According to a biography of Melania Trump by Washington Post journalist Mary Jordan the former Melania Knauss moved to New York City in and first modeled under a series of H- B visas NEW YORK - OCTOBER Donald Trump and Melania Knauss attend the USO of Metropolitan New York Gold Medal Awards at The Plaza Hotel October in New York City Photo by Matthew Peyton Getty Images The view that Melania Trump never reached the top echelon of editorial modeling was echoed in Jordan s book The Art of Her Deal Jordan noted that Melania s relationship with Trump helped her book particular higher-profile modeling gigs But according to Jordan and the Daily Beast her biggest accomplishments were limited to an ad for Camel cigarettes that put her on a billboard in Times Square a photo in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition and a nude photo shoot for GQ Meanwhile the year that Melania Trump received her Einstein visa issued through the elite EB- project such visas were only handed out to of non-U S citizens Jordan mentioned When Trump first ran for president in his campaign promised to hold a press conference that would set the record straight about Melania Trump s path to lawful permanent residency and citizenship The promise was made after nude photos of her were splashed across the cover and inside pages of the New York Post During that time reports also revealed that Melania Trump had earned up to for modeling gigs before she received a work visa in There are a lot of questions about how she procured entry into the United States immigration attorney David Leopold a past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association disclosed in Jordan s book Not surprisingly Crockett s disgraceful critique of Melania Trump s modeling accomplishments upset fans of the first lady according to the New York Post On X people blasted Crockett for being jealous or even brought up Melania Trump s questionable claim that she can speak five languages which Jordan s book also refuted But there were a meager more jokes at Melania Trump s expense at Wednesday s House hearing The Cato Institute s Alex Nowrasteh testifying at the hearing interjected to defend Melania real quick according to the Daily Beast Nowrasteh the vice president of economic and social agenda at the institute which has been critical of ICE s unprecedented crackdown on peaceful people quipped that the Melania Trump s great accomplishment was marrying the president Nowrasteh reported not everybody could marry Donald Trump and I think that s quite an achievement so I think she deserves credit for that Nobody up here could have done it Crockett clapped back You sure are right I couldn t have done it