The mother of the crying baby that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump joked about at an Ashburn, Virginia campaign rally on Tuesday has spoken out disputing the media and Clinton campaign’s smear job against Trump over the incident.

Trump starts rally in Ashburn, Virginia by saying he needs bigger arenas pic.twitter.com/PMTRXoBYzt — Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) August 2, 2016

Trump starts rally in Ashburn, Virginia by saying he needs bigger arenas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjfSxTB9vYM

Trump just said he “doesn’t throw babies out” of his rallies… Let’s review the record.https://t.co/u3a8RDNNrr — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 5, 2016

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“Trump just said he “doesn’t throw babies out” of his rallies…Let’s review the record.”

Devan Ebert first wrote an open letter to Trump on Facebook that went viral (the original appears to have been made private). Ebert then spoke to the Washington Post in an email interview that was published Saturday afternoon that largely tracked with the viral Facebook post.

Glenn Kessler, the ‘fact-checker’ for the Post who interviewed Ebert, gave Trump the ‘Geppetto Checkmark’ for being truthful when he said he did not throw the baby out of the rally.

The news media jumped ugly on Trump over his lighthearted remarks about the crying baby and made no effort to ascertain the facts of the situation. As Kessler points out, a Toronto Star reporter named Daniel Dale wrote about the incident that day and noted the woman stepped out on her own and returned to her seat later with the baby quieted by a pacifier.

…The baby was one row in front of me, three or four rows from the stage, at Trump’s event at a high school in Ashburn, Va. When it began to cry, Trump said, “Don’t worry about that baby, I love babies. I love babies. I hear that baby crying, I like it. I like it. What a baby, what a beautiful baby. Don’t worry, don’t worry. The mom’s running around — don’t worry about it.” People applauded. One minute later, though, the baby began to cry again. This time, the mother quickly decided to take the baby out of the room. Trump, looking in our direction, appeared to notice that she was on her way to the exit. And then he said, “Actually, I was only kidding. You can get the baby out of here. That’s all right. Don’t worry. I think she really believed me that I love having a baby crying while I’m speaking?” He cupped his hand over his eyes to watch her leave. “That’s OK, people don’t understand. That’s OK.” A joke? Possibly. An insensitive, heartless, ordinary-person-embarrassing remark? Possibly. Trump’s tone is eternally hard to read. But, to my eyes, it certainly was not an ejection — it was an unusually barbed endorsement of the mother’s own decision to depart. One other salient fact is missing from all the pieces on babygate. Mom and baby, very much not kicked out, came back to their seat a bit later. The baby was sucking a pacifier, silent.”

That was published the day of the incident. The media piled on Trump as a cold, mean, woman-hating, baby-hating man. And the media wonders why Trump holds them in such contempt.

Ebert’s Facebook post in what appears to be the closest version to the original was found by ace Free Republic researcher MaggieF in a Facebook post on August 3 by Rik Bayse. (Paragraphs added.)

Please share… From lady at Trump rally when baby began to cry… From Devan Cierra Ebert to Donald J Trump… Hello, this message is for Donald J. Trump. I was the mother in his rally on Tuesday, August 2nd, in Ashburn, VA, with the baby who started to cry. I would just like him to know personally that I, by no means felt I was ever “kicked out” of his rally. I excused myself and my child when he awoke from his nap and began to cry. It was only because I had to grab my child’s belongings and then make my way out of the aisle I was seated in that I wasn’t out of there sooner. I realize Mr. Trump doesn’t know me personally, but for those that do, know that I am the first one to excuse myself and my child when he begins to cry because I personally believe it’s rude to disturb anyone else’s ability to hear what they came to see. I’ve left movies, violin recitals, and other events if I felt my child was disturbing others. It is the considerate thing to do. I stood right outside the doors of the auditorium continuing to watch and listen to what Mr. Trump had to say. In fact, the police that were right outside in the same hallway with me, treated me with so much respect it was incredible. They were so kind and made me feel welcomed to stand with them. One officer commended me on my bravery to bring my child to Mr. Trump’s rally. I fully support Mr. Trump. I thought he responded very graciously to my child crying and he made a lighthearted moment out of what I usually consider to be stressful. I actually was out of the auditorium before he even made his follow up comment about my child and even then, when I was informed of his comment, I laughed. I understand he says things jokingly, and I understand no one wants to speak over or struggle to listen over a crying baby. I am in no way offended and I again reiterate, Mr. Trump NEVER kicked me or my child out of the Briar Woods High School, Trump rally. And for the record, while my child and I stood outside of the auditorium, my eleven year old stepdaughter and my Grandmother sat inside the auditorium and continued to support and listen to everything Mr. Trump had to say. We all were so excited to be able to see Mr. Trump so close to home. I didn’t have a babysitter to watch my kids and honestly, to me it was a historical moment that I am happy that my kids were there for. I apologize for the trouble this has caused Mr.Trump. The media has severely blown this out of proportion and made it out to be something that it wasn’t and is clearly using this as political gain for the Democratic party. I hope this message sheds light to what really happened. Thank you for your time. Best of luck! You have our vote. Trump 2016

Ebert’s comments to the Washington Post are similar to the Facebook statement.

Dale’s account is confirmed by the mother herself — Virginia resident Devan Ebert. (She spoke on the condition that we not report her town.) “The media did in fact blow this entire situation out of proportion,” she wrote in an email. “I’m not looking to make it into anything bigger. All I’m hoping is that Trump personally is aware that I am in agreement with him and stand by the fact that I was never kicked out of the rally.” She said that she decided to leave the auditorium on her own because “it’s the considerate thing to do for others around, trying to listen or for those presenting,” adding that “it was blatantly obvious he was joking.” She said she stood with the police officers outside the auditorium, who were very kind to her, and then returned to her seat once her child had calmed down. “I had a wonderful time and I appreciate Trump’s graciousness during a time that is usually considered stressful,” she said. “His comic relief was a breath of fresh air.””

Probably the most hysterical smear of Trump was written by Julie Scharper and published by the Baltimore Sun the day after the ‘baby incident’ with the headline, “Trump banished the baby, humiliated the mother.”

I imagine this mother waited a long time to get into the Trump rally. She probably brought her baby because she hoped Mr. Trump would kiss her baby, pose for a photo. I’m sure she was horrified when the baby started crying, but hoped the usual tricks would calm him. I’m sure she didn’t want to leave and lose her place. I’m sure she took Mr. Trump at his word when he said, “Don’t worry.” Instead, Mr. Trump humiliated this mother in front of the crowd. He belittled her for taking him at his word. “I think she really believed me,” he said. Strange words for someone who punctuates his speeches with, “Believe me.” It’s a bully’s game, manipulative and mean. Lie and then taunt someone for trusting you. If Mr. Trump would sum up his campaign in a few words, perhaps they would be, “I think they really believed me.”

Will the media apologize to Trump?