White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday he was “taken aback” and a “little surprised” that a House Republican staffer criticized first daughters Sasha and Malia Obama for not showing “class.”
Elizabeth Lauten, communications director for Rep. Stephen Fincher, R-Tenn., announced her resignation Monday after a controversial social media post in which she urged the Obama girls to “try showing a little class” during a Thanksgiving event at the White House.
“This incident is a reminder of just how important” it is to remain civil on social media, Earnest said in his daily briefing with reporters.
Obama’s top spokesman added it was “common sense” that the first daughters should not receive such scrutiny.
Before resigning, Lauten apologized for judging “two young ladies in a way that I would never have wanted to be judged myself as a teenager.”
Lauten criticized the Obama girls for appearing less than enthused during the president’s pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkey at the White House.
“Dear Sasha and Malia: I get you’re both in those awful teen years, but you’re a part of the First Family, try showing a little class,” she wrote. “At least respect the part you play.”
