A CNN reporter tried to turn a moment of gratitude into a “gotcha” moment Wednesday by accusing First Lady Melania Trump of using a White House event with freed hostages to promote her documentary. The hostages themselves, however, had a very different take—and they weren’t shy about saying so.
CNN’s Betsy Klein asked Melania why she thought it was “appropriate” to host a celebration for freed Israeli hostages Aviva and Keith Siegel if it was supposedly tied to promoting her documentary, Melania. The first lady calmly explained that the event had nothing to do with the film and everything to do with the Siegels wanting to personally thank her.
“Why do you feel it is appropriate to use an official White House event to promote your documentary?” Klein asked.
“This is not a promotion. We are here celebrating the release of the hostages of Aviva and Keith,” Melania responded. “They were in Washington, D.C., and they called me. They said they would like to come over to thank me and to give hugs. And that’s why we are here. It has nothing to do with promotion.”
A scene in Melania’s documentary shows her meeting Aviva in January 2025 while Keith was still in captivity. During that meeting, Aviva gave Melania two of her husband’s books, which Melania later passed on to President Trump to help raise awareness about Keith’s situation.
Aviva had been held hostage for 51 days after being captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Keith was held for 434 days, according to The Jerusalem Post. Keith was freed about one month after Aviva met with Melania.
On Thursday, Aviva and Keith appeared on Fox & Friends and publicly thanked Melania, crediting her with helping secure their freedom.
“Well, you know, having a hostage in Gaza, I was just thinking about everything that I could maybe do to put pressure on anybody that will listen to me and [Melania] opened her heart and she listened to me,” Aviva said. “And from that minute, I knew that she would go to her husband, President Trump, and talk about Keith and I, and that’s exactly what happened. And for me it was like a start of believing that it’s going to happen… she gave me lots of faith… and I want to thank her, and Keith wants to thank her.”
Melania also spoke about her meeting with Aviva during the White House event, praising her determination to save her husband.
“Aviva was a warrior. She is a warrior. She was fighting very hard for Keith, and I know he suffered a lot,” Melania said. “I’m happy to see you healthy and home with your children, your grandchildren, with your family.”
So while CNN tried to spin a reunion with freed hostages into a scandal, the people who actually lived through the nightmare made it clear: this was about compassion, effort, and results. And in the end, gratitude spoke louder than any gotcha question ever could.
