Trumps’ marriage under microscope
“There’s the concern that, for people in public life, their personal life matters and can affect their decision-making — so they want to know what that connection is, and they want to read the tea leaves,” Jellison said. “Many first families have had marriages that people suspected might not be the greatest . . . there’s often been speculation.”
Many people knew Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt lived largely separate lives, and criticism of Eleanor for not being an adequate housewife spilled into editorial cartoons mocking their marriage.
The Kennedys, of course, were famously whispered about, although there was a tacit “gentlemen’s agreement” among male reporters covering the president that his affairs were off limits, Jellison said.
In the 1990s, the Clintons’ marriage, which weathered his highprofile affair with a White House staffer, was the subject of tabloid headlines and multiple books.
The collective curiosity about the inner workings of first couples was increasingly fed by a generally more “invasive” media coverage, said Anita McBride, who served as an adviser to George W. Bush and chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush.
“We are fascinated by first families and the behind-the-scenes life of public figures,” said McBride, an executive-in-residence at the School of Public Affairs at American University. “What’s different about it (is) . . . greater media access and so many different platforms has led to more robust knowledge about a first family.”
Gone were the days when Eleanor Roosevelt could select the photos of her family that she wanted released to the newspapers, McBride added. Melania Trump couldn’t control tabloid headlines or hashtags about her, such as the #FreeMelania campaign that her husband’s critics often fired up on social media.
Concern about the state of the marriage and the feelings of the first lady related to concern about the president’s state of mind, Jellison said.
“First ladies,” McBride added, “are often validators of their husbands.”
As images of her husband’s alleged mistresses flick across cablenews screens, Melania Trump has continued to perform her role.
On Tuesday, she introduced the president at a gathering about the opioid crisis in New Hampshire, and next day welcomed tech CEOs to the White House.
Her office did not respond to a request for comment about her marriage.
Paolo Zampolli, the businessman who introduced the Trumps, said Melania was aware from day one as the first lady she could no longer be a private person: “She wasn’t just going to be the gorgeous wife of this very powerful businessman, wealthy man who has a TV show.”