Life of the First Lady
‘‘What’s happening is exactly what she didn’t want to happen. They’ve literally become like the Kardashians: scandals, divorces, headlines.’’
Source close to the first lady
UNITED STATES: Apparently, life hasn’t turned out the way Melania Trump hoped when she married Donald Trump 13 years ago. That’s because the celebrity real estate mogul ran for US president and, to many people’s surprise – including, reportedly his wife’s – he won.
Ever since, Melania Trump, a Slovenian-born former model who is known to be an introvert, has seen her life in the White House turn into a ‘‘24/7 tornado’’, and she’s ‘‘furious’’ about it, magazine reported this week.
‘‘What’s happening is exactly what she didn’t want to happen,’’ a source close to the first lady told
‘‘They’ve literally become like the Kardashians: scandals, divorces, headlines.’’
It’s interesting that Trump would be surprised that her husband would apparently run his presidency like the plot of a reality TV show, given that’s how he publicly conducted his life and career over the decades – including when they were dating and before he actually became a reality TV star.
In any case, she has taken tentative steps into assuming the role of first lady over the 14 months since her husband’s inauguration.
She seemed to withdraw at the beginning of this year, amid new allegations that her husband had affairs with porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
In recent weeks, controversies involving her immigration to the US, son-in-law Jared Kushner and the special counsel investigation into Russia’s election meddling have continued to pile up and close in on the White House.
She was also called out by a
columnist for knowing about her husband’s alleged affairs and attitudes towards women. Most recently, her stepson Donald Trump Jr has been caught up in a nasty public divorce and has been hit with infidelity allegations of his own.
‘‘No-one was paying attention to [Melania] two years ago,’’ the source added to ‘‘Now it’s a 24/7 tornado. She hates it.’’
But even amid the ‘‘tornado’’, she has stepped back into the spotlight – and almost defiantly. It’s either her way of doubling down on her loyalty to her husband, or it’s an attempt to show her independence, observers say.
‘‘I’m sure these headlines are troubling for her,’’ CNN White House reporter Kate Bennett said during an on-air discussion this week.
Just this week, Melania Trump showed defiance by addressing longstanding criticism over her campaign pledge to fight cyberbullying. According to a report by Bennett, at a roundtable event with technology executives at the White House on Wednesday, the first lady addressed the apparent hypocrisy of her pledge in her opening remarks: ‘‘I am well aware that people are sceptical of me discussing this topic.’’
The hypocrisy accusation comes from her husband often being called America’s most prominent internet troll, someone who uses social media for namecalling and negativity, Bennett says.
‘‘I have been criticised for my commitment to tackling this issue, and I know that will continue,’’ Melania Trump continued in her address. ‘‘But it will not stop me from doing what I know is right.’’
Bennett suggested that Melania Trump’s desire to address this criticism head on could be her attempt to show her ‘‘independence’’. It could also be her way of distancing herself from the ‘‘chaos’’ reportedly consuming the West Wing.
‘‘That’s a word that keeps popping up with this first lady: ‘independence’,’’ Bennett added.
Author and journalist Kate Andersen Brower, who covered the Obama White House, agreed during the CNN discussion that Melania Trump was aware of the hypocrisy charges, but said she apparently wanted to go forward with the anti-cyberbullying effort anyway because ‘‘she believes in it’’.
‘‘She’s under a lot of pressure,’’ Brower added. ‘‘She’s definitely in a difficult position.’’
Another show of defiance may come from the way Melania Trump has allowed the president to be more publicly affectionate, including on Tuesday, when the couple walked on the South Lawn of the White House to Marine One.
Trump and his wife are better known for their awkwardness together in public, notably the many occasions when she has appeared to rebuff his attempts to take her hand.
But things were different on Tuesday. Wearing high-heeled boots, Melania Trump stumbled. Fortunately, her husband, half a second earlier, had slipped his arm around her, so he was able to catch her.
Actually, it was an unusual gesture of chivalry from Donald Trump. In the past, he’s been seen darting ahead of her – for example, to shake hands with outgoing president Barack Obama at the White House – or he’s been photographed not sharing an umbrella with her and their son Barron, 11, as they boarded Air Force One.
But after Trump caught her, she put her arm around him and they enjoyed a brief embrace as they continued on to the helicopter.
‘‘This is not a first couple that’s known for displaying affection,’’ Bennett said. ‘‘They may do it behind closed doors, but not usually in public.’’
Brower added: ‘‘I thought it was surprising, actually.’’
But of course, neither these CNN pundits nor anyone else can say what this moment of PDA means about the state of the first couple’s marriage.
It has been widely reported by author Michael Wolff and more recently by that the president and first lady keep separate bedrooms in the White House and at their home in Bedminster, New Jersey.
During Trump’s alleged affair with McDougal, he reportedly introduced the Playboy model to members of his family and, during a private tour of his penthouse in Trump Tower, showed her Melania Trump’s separate bedroom, according to a report in
magazine paints a portrait of a miserable first lady, saying she craves the life she had before her husband ran for president. That’s when she could fill her free time playing tennis, doing pilates, shopping, reading magazines, and caring for her son Barron.
‘‘She was able to do whatever she wanted and have her family with her much of the time,’’ a source told She would spend time at her husband’s Mara-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida during the week, while Donald Trump remained in New York City, working and doing whatever else.
Nowadays, Trump is ‘‘24/7 on TV and electronics and thinking and scheming’’, the source said. ‘‘There’s not a lot of peaceful downtime.’’ –