Michael Dell has shared messages urging trolls to leave his wife Susan alone after their recent visit to The White House attracted a wave of cruel comments online.
The couple were there following their recent $6.25 billion contribution to children’s investment accounts.
Susan, 62, appeared alongside the Dell founder in the Oval Office on October 7. Wearing a red dress, she stood behind Donald Trump as he spoke in footage that later circulated online.
Some commenters branded the clip ‘one of the weirdest things’ and ‘not real’.
Dell appears to have answered the criticism by reposting messages from families who said that their children had benefited from the donation.
‘My grandson got 250 dollars in his Trump account from Susan Dell. Please leave that woman alone,’ read one post that he shared on X. Another came from a parent who said that both their sons had received an unexpected contribution.
‘I signed my kids up and wasn’t expecting to get anything as we live in a wealthy county and city. Out of the blue $250 showed up from Dell for both of my boys.’ The parent added that they would now go out of their way to support the couple.
Their contribution to the Trump Accounts scheme is intended to help 25 million children start building a financial grounding in life.
Dell, the chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, has also shared letters, drawings and thank you cards sent in by children that are benefitting.
Speaking during The White House visit, Susan described the messages that she and her husband had received as the money reached children’s accounts.
‘Over the past month, as our contribution reached millions of children’s accounts, Michael and I have heard from so many parents and kids and grandparents with these beautiful letters that have truly moved us.’
Children have apparently told the couple that they hoped to become entrepreneurs, nurses, doctors and engineers. Some plan to start businesses of their own.
Susan said that the encouragement behind the money mattered too: ‘It’s not just the money that matters… Knowing someone believes in you and your future that matters just as much.’
Eric Trump also praised her in a post on X, pointing to the size of the donation and the couple’s wider charitable work. He addressed Susan directly, saying: ‘Susan, on behalf of the overwhelming majority of people in this nation: Thank You!! You are incredible!’
The president’s son described the comments as ‘vicious attacks’ and condemned those responsible.
‘Very few people have done more for philanthropy,’ he wrote. ‘It’s disgusting and it has to stop.’