I think this lady is in danger of strangling her argument with her own semanticism.
As is often the case, people will lose the subtle - but vital - intricacies of the point being made, and seize on the most obvious misunderstanding they can find, and then make that the statement, when it is clearly something different.
I think the lady in question is at fault.
When making public pronouncements where a degree of confusion is possible - which means any public statements where the media are concerned - it is the responsibility of the statement maker to ensure that ambiguity is excised as far as possible, in order to avoid potential misinterpretation, which in turn is in order to create an incorrect image of the person concerned.
Say what you mean, make it simple, and don't give people an excuse to misunderstand.