Melania Trump, mystery woman



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Watch CNN's special report, "The Mysterious Woman: Melania Trump", premiered on Friday at 9pm. AND.

There are little or no media interviews – the most recent via Fox News last December – and few of his speeches, which often do not last more than five minutes, never come to the surface of the media. 39 a news cycle teeming with plethora of daily coverage of her husband.

It was however revealed that she would make another solo trip abroad this year, and that she would be the second after a visit made in October 2018 in five African countries.

Although the political component of his tenure remains rare, Trump plays an important role in most of the traditional components of the First Lady, overseeing events such as the Easter egg roll or the annual holiday decorations, planning and applying the appropriate protocol for travel abroad. . She also remains a stable and quiet presence alongside the President during visits and announcements of dignitaries.

Yet, in the absence of familiarity and accessibility with which some Americans have felt more with the previous ladies, such as Michelle Obama or even Laura Bush, it is said that Trump is a reluctant first lady.

"I still think she's one of the first less conventional ladies we've ever had," said Frank Bruni, columnist for the New York Times, in CNN's special report. entitled "Woman of Mystery: Melania Trump", aired Friday night at 9 o'clock. pm AND.

"A lot of recent women did not really seem to want to fill that position, you know, their husbands ran for president against their will, they accepted it to support, but Melania is the one. apotheosis And, I think, and what I think, so far, has been consistent throughout the campaign, the entire administration, it's that kind of distance she keeps from this role, " said Bruni.

However, her husband often earns praise for his first lady. Friday, as he was discussing his new paint plans for Air Force One, the president likened Melania Trump to Jackie Kennedy favorably.

"You know, the blue sky does not suit us and people get used to something but it was Jackie O, and that's fine, but we have our own Jackie O today." it's called Melania, "said Trump.

Small but fierce staff

Stephanie Grisham, Chief of Staff and Director of Communications for the First Lady, has a decidedly different opinion, which she shared while offering rare access to the East Wing of the White House.

Grisham's office is adjacent to Melania Trump's office, and she says she's "literally the first line of defense" when it comes to her boss's defense. She cites the strong bond that the first lady created with her small team of 12 members, a small crew made up of East Wing personnel compared to those of Obama and Bush, who had less than 20 people at their service in various official bodies. capabilities.

Grisham told CNN that it was by Trump's design that his team felt confident and supported, and that there was no recruiter that the first lady personally supervised. This is an interesting juxtaposition with the West Wing, with its frequent staff changes and rumors of internal quarrels between the aides.

"Working in the east wing, being so small, we are soldered," said Grisham. "We must be, we are very close."

The first lady is actively involved in the day-to-day affairs of East Wing and the White House, Grisham said, adding that Trump was a "fun" and committed boss. The first lady often takes the time to put the staff at ease by listening to her and she knows their family and their lives outside the White House.

But there are those who say that the lack of a more robust staff, while lending themselves to better personal interaction, might indicate a disinterest in their role.

"I think (a small staff member from the East Wing) is putting you at a great disadvantage and also sending you a message stating how much you are willing to do and how much you want to do," said Kate Andersen Brower, CNN contributor and author of "First Women: The Grace and Power of the First Modern Ladies of America."

"My own voice"

If messaging is a concern of Trump, she clearly does not focus on it.

While the first previous ladies had practiced the art of following their husband, personally, politically, publicly, Melania Trump chose a different path.

"I have my own voice and my opinions," said Trump at his one and only press conference recorded last October in Egypt. "It's very important to me that I express what I feel."

After all, the first real position of the first lady was to break the mold by not settling in Washington six months after the inauguration, citing the need to stay in New York while her son finished the school year. This decision should have been a sign for the other upcoming independence ratings, including traveling alone when she feels like it, not commenting during scandals of infidelities or irregularities. She also sometimes stated that her opinion did not agree with that of the president – that it's about cyberbullying, the TV news channel that she prefers or what it's about. She thought of NBA superstar LeBron James.

"There is clearly an independent trend in it that I think surprises people simply because, in many other ways, it seems to be an old-fashioned woman," Bruni said.

Of course, she is married to Trump and her opinions, as well as her lack of clarification, have been controversial.

In 2011, she participated in the show "The View" on ABC and said, along with her husband, that she felt that Barack Obama had to show his birth certificate, expressing his suspicions about his birthplace.

Trump has never commented on or clarified these words.

She also said in Africa that although she was happy that the accusers claiming to be victims of abuse were being heard, she needed "hard evidence" before she came forward, a firm decision in the face of the court's commitment. #MeToo movement to believe women.

backlash

She also suffered violent reactions just near Trump. Many critics think that she can not preach anti-bullying when she is married to a man who regularly uses social media to call himself and stand up.

"I do not always agree with what he's tweeting, and I tell him," said Trump in Egypt, a chorus she's already repeated several times.

It's an informative note about the first lady that may solve some of the mystery.

Here is a first lady who says that among the many disparate components of her work (a job that has no official description), there is no question of controlling the president, nor of being blindly agreeing with him on all fronts.

On the contrary, she says that certain parts of her behavior also bother her.

"Melania Trump is never subject to Washington's ability to broadcast everything you think and do," Kellyanne Conway told CNN in an interview for "Woman of Mystery: Melania Trump".

The First Lady is, unlike the President and her role, very little concerned with how she is perceived by an American audience in one of the most controversial political climates in history.

"I do not think Melania is after popularity," said Bruni. "Because you are only after the popularity and the number of polls if you want to try to turn them into something, if their motto is."

This weekend marks four years since Melania Trump descended on the escalator of the Trump Tower alongside Trump when he announced his bid for the presidency.

She was then, as she is now, expressionless, calm, refined and difficult to read.

"I have the impression that she cares less about what people think than her predecessors," Bruni said.

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