First lady Melania Trump came to her husband's defense and said "people with no names are writing our nation's history," and ripped The New York Times' anonymous editorial writer, saying "you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions."

"People with no names are writing our nation's history," the first lady wrote in a statement issued to CNN. "Words are important, and accusations can lead to severe consequences. If a person is bold enough to accuse people of negative actions, they have a responsibility to publicly stand by their words and people have the right to be able to defend themselves.

"To the writer of the op-ed — you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions."

The first lady's statement began with supporting the First Amendment, despite the anonymous attacks on President Donald Trump's administration.

"Freedom of speech is an important pillar of our nation's founding principles and a free press is important to our democracy," Melania's statement began. "The press should be fair, unbiased and responsible. Unidentified sources have become the majority of the voices people hear about in today's news."