Melania Trump has described the shortage of baby formula nationwide as ‘heartbreaking’ – using her first interview since leaving the White House to say the crisis was down to ‘leadership’.
The former first lady sat down with Fox News’s Pete Hegseth for an interview to be aired in full on Sunday.
In a clip released on Friday night, Hegseth asked for her views on the baby formula problem.
‘It’s heartbreaking to see that they are struggling and the food is not available for children in 21st century in the United States of America,’ she said.
Asked what was causing the shortages, took aim at Joe Biden’s administration and replied: ‘Leadership.’
When Hegseth asked if she meant a lack of leadership, she said: ‘Yeah.’
The 52-year-old has kept a low profile since leaving the White House in January 2021, with only rare sightings by members of Mar-a-Lago.
She has spent her time promoting the sale of her NFT collection of digital artworks.
In January she denied a report in Bloomberg that she was behind the $180,000 purchase of the art after it was claimed no-one else had come forward.
Her return to the headlines came as the baby formula crisis dominated discussion.
The head of one of the four companies that control 90 percent of the U.S. market for baby formula has warned that the shortages nationwide could last until the end of the year, and President Joe Biden’s critics mocked his claim that ‘only a mind reader’ could have predicted the current crisis.
On Friday CEO of formula giant Perrigo, Murray Kessler, told Reuters he expects shortages and heightened demand to last for the ‘balance of the year.’
Kessler said their factories in Ohio and Vermont are running at 115 percent capacity, to compensate for Chicago-based Abbott’s shutdown, which happened in mid-February – but added that supplies would remain erratic for the remainder of 2022.
‘We have stepped up and are killing ourselves to do everything we can,’ Kessler said.
At the request of the FDA, Perrigo is focusing on four items: the store-brand versions of Similac Pro Sensitive and Pro Advance, and Enfamil Gentle Ease and Infant, Kessler said.
The company added that it is making other formulas as well.
It also has a smaller business making some national formula brands, including Bobbie.
Ilyse Hogue, president of the progressive social change campaign, Purpose, tweeted: ‘Bette, respectfully, this is a very bad take. I had twins. I didn’t produce enough milk for both. Without formula, I would have had to have chosen which one got to eat. To say nothing of kids that get separated from the birth mothers very young.’
One replied: ‘I love you Bette, but this is not okay. I fought to breastfeed my son, he kept losing weight, despite my best efforts, including lactation experts.
‘It was emotional and heartbroken I felt like a failure and at 3 months switched to formula, because of the stress it put on me and my son.’
Another joked: ‘No biggie, Bette says just get a wet nurse! (Never mind they charge $1000+ per week and that’s something working families cannot afford, especially in a time where EVERYTHING costs more.)’
Nationwide, supplies of baby formula are at 43 percent, with some states such as Tennessee, Delaware and Texas reporting that their ‘out of stock level’ is running as high as 54 percent.
The problem was spurred by a February shutdown of one of America’s largest baby formula producers, in Michigan, after the facility was found to be contaminated and two babies died after consuming the products – although the factory insists the bacteria in their factory did not contribute to the infants’ death.
The shutdown exacerbated shortages and supply chain issues already caused by the pandemic. And it highlighted the strong monopoly of baby formula, with 98 percent produced within the United States, and three companies controlling over 90 percent of the supply.
Many products from Europe cannot be imported, despite being produced to a higher standard in many ingredients, because they do not have the FDA-required labelling on the packaging.