Melania Trump, the mysterious First Lady of the United States, who may play a different role this time

When Donald Trump won his first presidential term in 2016, his wife initially did not visit the White House and stayed in New York with their young son.

She was sometimes reluctant to follow the traditions established by women before her.

But experts say this time, Trump will likely be more cautious in his approach to his undefined role. First Lady of the United States.

Born Melanija Neves, a 54-year-old Slovenian-American former model, she traded her glamorous life surrounded by the gilded walls of Manhattan’s Trump Tower for the limitations of political life that come with the Oval Office, during a presidency often plagued by controversy. Was. ,

Described by some as an “enigma”, Trump has preferred to be less public than his predecessors and has given fewer speeches at the White House and during the election campaign.

“she has been unique compared to others Modern first ladies,” said Tammy Vigil, an associate professor of communications at Boston University and author of a book on Michelle Obama and Melania Trump.

“He does things the way he wants, not the way he should, but he meets basic expectations.”

In recent years, she has been away from the limelight as her husband challenged several legal cases against her while campaigning for a second term.

Her absence prompted several newspaper articles this summer asking, “Where is Melania?”

Trump has made appearances on major occasions, such as when her husband announced in late 2022 that he would run for re-election.

He also attended the Republican National Convention in July wearing a bright red Christian Dior suit, but did not speak, another breach of tradition.

When he speaks his words sound carefully selected And provide clues about their opinions.

At her husband’s Madison Square Garden rally a few weeks before the election, she made brief but brief comments consistent with the Trump campaign’s law-and-order message, describing New York City as a “great metropolis” in decline due to rampant crime. Was described.

She also spoke out after the first assassination attempt against her husband, calling for unity and calling the attacker a “monster”.

In a rare interview on Fox, he later criticized his political opponents and the media.create a toxic environmentDue to which the attack took place.

Mrs. Trump announced her pro-abortion stance in her recent memoir, putting her at odds with pro-life activists within the Republican Party.

The comments heightened speculation about Trump’s relationship, as her husband was campaigning to repeal Roe v. Wade at the time.

Trump has written about her modeling career, her admiration for her husband, and her past political disagreements, but has chosen to keep the details of those controversies private.

But Has publicly supported her husband on controversial issues Like his false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

“I am not the only one to question the results,” he wrote in his book.

Regarding the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, she wrote that she was “unaware” of what was happening because she was concerned about her responsibilities.

His former press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, wrote in her memoir that Trump refused to issue a statement condemning the violence, leading Mrs. Grisham to resign.

Some commentators have questioned whether she enjoyed the role of First Lady.

One of his biographers, former CNN reporter Kate Bennett, says that he did so despite his initial reluctance.

“She loved being first lady and all the perks that came with living in the White House,” Bennett told People magazine in 2021. “I think he really enjoyed it.”

In her memoir, Mrs. Trump wrote that she had a “strong sense of duty as First Lady to use this platform for good.”

And he said in a 1999 interview that if Trump ever ran for president, he would use former First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Betty Ford as role models, calling them “very traditional.”

Kennedy was a fashion icon who dedicated herself to preserving the White House, while Ford was known as a pioneer who advocated for abortion rights and women’s rights.

After going to Washington, Trump began serving as first ladySuch as organizing state lunches and dinners for leaders on world tours.

He also focused on the aesthetics of the White House, ordering extensive renovations and overseeing ambitious Christmas decorations (and he was once secretly recorded complaining about the latter task).

Her clothing was the subject of fascination and controversy in the media, particularly when she was asked “I don’t really care, do you?” Was seen wearing a jacket with the phrase. During a visit to a migrant child detention center in 2018.

he said the jacket was A message to “leftist people and media” Who criticized him.

Trump again came under criticism after his former friend and senior advisor secretly recorded him.

In the recording, Trump expressed frustration over criticism over her husband’s policy of separating immigrant children from their families.

She later revealed that she had become influenced by politics and had privately told Trump that she did not support it.

The President left politics in June 2018 after a storm of controversies.

Professor Vigil says one of the biggest challenges Trump faced in her husband’s first term was his political inexperience, along with his equally inexperienced and sometimes disloyal staff.

But Trump remained quietly busy, with Vigil advocating for issues such as the well-being of children through his Be Best campaign against online bullying.

Too Advocated for children affected by the opioid crisis. And she has since created a foundation that raises money for the education of children in foster care.

Many expect the work to continue after he returns to Washington, although it is unclear whether he will remain there full-time.

Vigil says the role of first lady has evolved over the years and that Trump will “make decisions about how active she wants to be in public.”

“And I think he’ll do it more deliberately.”

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