It’s become abundantly clear over the past decade that the mainstream media will stop at nothing to disparage President Donald Trump, even if it means spreading rumors and half-truths about those closest to him.
According to U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), that was the case when the Daily Beast decided to run a teaser headline for an article based on reporting from Axios.
Fox News provided the details:
Alex Isenstadt, Axios reporter and author of “Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power,” made headlines with quotes allegedly said by Trump in a sneak preview published by Axios on Sunday.
ADVERTISEMENTAmong the quotes was one he allegedly said to Luna in 2023 offering her the bed on his jet when she was pregnant and feeling ill, though it included a joke about his wife Melania being jealous.
“If you need a bed to lay down in, there’s one here on the plane. If you feel sick and you need to lay there, you can lay on it. Just don’t tell Melania. She doesn’t like other women on my bed,” Trump said to Luna, according to Isenstadt, who noted in the Axios sneak preview that Trump was joking.
However, The Daily Beast ran the headline “‘Don’t Tell Melania’: Trump Once Offered Rising MAGA Star His Bed,” teasing to readers, “The alleged comments cast new light on the president’s eyebrow-raising marriage to Melania Trump.”
The report acknowledged Luna was “unwell” in the first paragraph but didn’t mention the joking nature of Trump’s comment until the fourth.
An X post by the Daily Beast promoting the article has since been amended with a community note explaining that Luna has made it clear there was nothing inappropriate about her exchange with the president.
The lawmaker provided her full statement on the same platform:
I seldom respond to nasty headlines because I don’t like giving trash credibility, however, being that there is allegedly a book coming out with me named and attacking @POTUS , his marriage, our first lady, and frankly implying something distasteful about me, I am responding.… https://t.co/D1QyG0eYde
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) March 17, 2025
Here’s a full transcript of her statement:
I seldom respond to nasty headlines because I don’t like giving trash credibility, however, being that there is allegedly a book coming out with me named and attacking
@POTUS, his marriage, our first lady, and frankly implying something distasteful about me, I am responding.I was very pregnant and at the time experiencing pre-eclampsia symptoms, but was not diagnosed. As soon as
@realDonaldTrump boarded the plane, being the gentleman and good person that he is, said if I did not feel well, I could use the back room. He did this in a respectful way and in front of my husband, of which we thanked him. He also assured me that they had a medical team on board in case anything happened and they were aware of how pregnant I was.ADVERTISEMENTThis was the most compassionate thing that could’ve been done at the time. I find it disgusting that the author fails to recognize that. A few weeks later, I was induced because I did have pre-eclampsia . The author of this book never reached out to me for comment. Which means that this book is likely going to be a shit hit piece. If people in POTUS orbit are talking to this author, they need to be cut off immediately. This is gross.
The incident has only increased the prevailing distrust of mainstream media among many conservative Americans:
The Daily Beast is lying about Trump and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, claiming that he offered to sleep with her. You really don't hate the legacy media enough. pic.twitter.com/mc5ZsWCCv1
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 17, 2025
Daily Beast reporter trying make a name for himself, attempts to slander Rep. Paula Luna with a fake story…. https://t.co/tQiqyQLFmo
— SLO FOX (Joe D.) (@SLOFOX214000) March 18, 2025
Are you losers that pathetic that you would run a story knowing he offered Anna Paulina Luna, who was very pregnant a bed. Which she slept in with her husband? You think jokes are real stories because your party can’t figure out which bathroom to use or how to not bleed voters.…
— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) March 17, 2025
Twitchy also reported on the development:
A salacious post from The Daily Beast on Monday acted as clickbait for all of the people who doubt President Donald Trump’s faithfulness to his wife, Melania. Of course, you weren’t supposed to click through and read the actual story, just retweet the original post to try to get some engagement.
Ooh, that sounds juicy. Just look at the photo they chose to run with the piece.
ADVERTISEMENTYes, they are that pathetic.
Perhaps mainstream media outlets are busy manufacturing narratives because they don’t want to bring attention to the priorities of Luna and other Republicans in D.C.
The Florida Republican has been a stalwart defender of Trump’s immigration policy, as evidenced in this recent exchange on Capitol Hill:
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