Critics were right when they protested a tweet by a comedy writer about young Barron Trump, the 10-year-son of the new President.
Regardless of the severity of the alleged joke (the reference was to a "home schooled shooter"), the principle is that the children of the First Family are off limits.
They did not choose to be on the public stage, and therefore are not potential targets. President Trump's other offspring, however, are not children, and they are active in the family business and government activities, so that leaves them open to criticism.
But.
The rule works both ways. If Republicans object to negative comments about President Trump's young son, then they should not hurl snarky insults at the children of a Democratic President.
Example: Rush Limbaugh, the arch-conservative radio talk show guy, called Chelsea Clinton "the White House dog," and labeled the daughter of President Jimmy Carter "the most unattractive presidential daughter in the history of the country," before adding that he had temporarily "forgotten" about Margaret Truman.
News media have long held to the principle that young family members of a President should be left alone. That's partly a courtesy, and partly a bow to libel laws, since those in the public eye are open targets under the legal concept of "fair comment" while others can claim damage to their reputation.
Meanwhile, the comedy writer for the TV show "Saturday Night Live," who posted the comment about Barron Trump on her personal Twitter account, has been indefinitely suspended from her job, even though she deleted the joke and apologized.
It's appropriate that she be reprimanded, but whether the offense was sufficient to warrant being fired is another question.
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