Saturday 14 May 2022 05:13 AM 'It's heartbreaking to see': Melania slams Biden over baby formula crisis trends now
Melania Trump has described the shortage of baby formula nationwide as 'heartbreaking' - using her first interview since leaving the White House to say the crisis was down to 'leadership'.
The former first lady sat down with Fox News's Pete Hegseth for an interview to be aired in full on Sunday.
In a clip released on Friday night, Hegseth asked for her views on the baby formula problem.
'It's heartbreaking to see that they are struggling and the food is not available for children in 21st century in the United States of America,' she said.
Asked what was causing the shortages, took aim at Joe Biden's administration and replied: 'Leadership.'
When Hegseth asked if she meant a lack of leadership, she said: 'Yeah.'
Melania Trump on Friday gave her first interview since leaving the White House, and strongly criticized Joe Biden for his handling of the baby formula crisis
Donald and Melania Trump are seen on Memorial Day in 2020
The 52-year-old has kept a low profile since leaving the White House in January 2021, with only rare sightings by members of Mar-a-Lago.
She has spent her time promoting the sale of her NFT collection of digital artworks.
In January she denied a report in Bloomberg that she was behind the $180,000 purchase of the art after it was claimed no-one else had come forward.
Her return to the headlines came as the baby formula crisis dominated discussion.
The head of one of the four companies that control 90 percent of the U.S. market for baby formula has warned that the shortages nationwide could last until the end of the year, and President Joe Biden's critics mocked his claim that 'only a mind reader' could have predicted the current crisis.
On Friday CEO of formula giant Perrigo, Murray Kessler, told Reuters he expects shortages and heightened demand to last for the 'balance of the year.'
Kessler said their factories in Ohio and Vermont are running at 115 percent capacity, to compensate for Chicago-based Abbott's shutdown, which happened in mid-February - but added that supplies would remain erratic for the remainder of 2022.
'We have stepped up and are killing ourselves to do everything we can,' Kessler said.
At the request of the FDA, Perrigo is focusing on four items: the store-brand versions of Similac Pro Sensitive and Pro Advance, and Enfamil Gentle Ease and Infant, Kessler said.
The company added that it is making other formulas as well.
It also has a smaller business making some national formula brands, including Bobbie.
Murray Kessler, head of formula giant Perrigo, has warned shortages of baby food could last throughout 2022
The closure of Abbott's infant-formula plant in Sturgis, Michigan, exacerbated national pandemic-related shortages, leading to empty shelves in big box stores and supermarkets and panicked parents.
Abbott's brands include Similac formulas.
Perrigo is working with retailers including Walmart and Target Corp so they 'get something each week,' Kessler said.
Retailers' allocations are based on an average of what the retailers received prior to 'this crisis,' he said.
Meanwhile Biden has sparked fury after claiming that the issue could be sorted within weeks - the same as what the FDA has previously said - without offering further unique detail on how he plans to tackle the issue.
He was also accused of being glib after telling reporters Friday that he'd have needed psychic powers to predict the crisis, despite alarm bells sounding as far back as summer 2021.
The nationwide 'out of stock' level has been consistently above 10 percent since August, and in January this year The Wall Street Journal warned of an impending problem.
Brian Deese, Director of the National Economic Council, said on Friday morning that the White House had been urging states to take action to combat the issue in February - after the shortage was exacerbated by a February 17 recall of some products produced by Abbott Laboratories, and a shutdown of one of their plants.
'We actually gave states the guidance on using flexibility the day after this recall happened in February,' he told CNN's Kaitlin Collins.
Joe Biden on Friday claimed that no one could have predicted the current shortage of baby formula - despite his own National Economic Council chief saying on Friday morning that they asked states to do more in February
This chart shows how quickly the nationwide crisis has escalated. The scale of the crisis is revealed in the new analysis, which shows that only 43 percent of the usual national supply of baby formula is available
