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It is not uncommon for this first lady to choose not to attend rallies and appearances with candidates and incumbents – she was not present regularly during presidential campaign events either. However, it should be noted that other members of the Trump family and cabinet members are replacing the president as fierce electoral battles unfold across the country.
"Because of her employment as a mother and first lady, especially with regard to holidays and trips abroad, she does not intend to campaign," said CNN spokeswoman Trump, Stephanie Grisham.
The first lady should join the president during his trip to Paris on November 11.
Ivanka Trump spent Thursday in Nevada in search of Senator Dean Heller; On Friday, she is in Iowa to campaign for Governor Kim Reynolds. Earlier this week, Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle, participated in an election campaign in West Virginia. Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle are expected to participate in at least a dozen other events in the country before polling day. And Eric Trump, along with his wife, Lara, is a regular presence in the world of the Trump Rally, often presenting the president and speaker before stepping onto the podium, as they did last week in Houston.
Not a priority
For the first lady, however, taking the time to campaign for Republicans, even if her husband takes part in eleven rallies a week, is not a priority. Her last appearance in the campaign and her speech were held almost two years ago, a few days before the November 2016 presidential election, when she delivered a speech in Pennsylvania.
"Whenever my husband learned that a factory was going to close in Ohio, North Carolina or Pennsylvania, I could see him getting very upset," she said at the time. time.
Trump also spoke about being an immigrant, wishing to help children fight bullying and about the need for a more compassionate dialogue. All these questions remain important points in the national conversation on the eve of the mid-term.
"The first lady has the highest approval rate among all members of the administration," said Doug Heye, political commentator at CNN, consultant for GOP and communications officer. "There is virtually no Republican candidate who would want her to campaign or profit from it, all the more so as it can help iron out some of the difficulties of the country. administration."
"The first ladies are usually easier to tell than their husbands," said Kate Andersen Brower, a CNN contributor and author of "First Women: The Grace and Power of the Modern First Ladies of America."
"People often say that they can sit and have coffee with them," she said.
Although this familiarity may be more applicable to Laura or Barbara Bush, or Michelle Obama, Brower points out that even a slight interaction with the public during a political appearance can be very useful.
"The first ladies usually campaign for their husbands and report on the concerns voiced by voters," she said.
Trump remains a prominent advisor to her husband and is a more influential confidante than the couple's public interactions, and salacious headlines about their marriage might involve. At a rare exchange with reporters last month in Egypt, Trump said that she regularly discussed important political issues with the president.
"Well, I do not always agree with what he thinks and I tell him, I give him my honest opinion and my honest advice," she said, confessing that " sometimes he listens, sometimes no. "
Brower said that often the first ladies can be a secret weapon for their spouses.
"They can be a real test for their husbands, who are often surrounded by counselors reluctant to disagree with them," she said.
When asked if Trump, even though he was not physically present at the campaign events, remained aware of her husband's priorities at mid-term and whether she took into account of his appearances in the rally, Grisham replied "Yes".
However, the role that Melania Trump will not compromise, even for the President of the United States, seems to be that of mother of the son of the first couple, 12 years old. During the presidential campaign, Trump said that his constant presence at home for Barron Trump was the main reason she would not be a regular at events, unlike previous first ladies.
"I tend to think that it's helpful to be open and honest with people and that having the president's wife and children on the campaign track generally helps." to soften the image of the president.This highlights their humanity, "said Brower. "But it is also clear that Melania Trump is a very private person with a young son who did not want this life, so why should she be forced to campaign?"
Potential impact?
The first ladies can have an effect on the trail.
It would be hard to forget the speech of the first lady, Michelle Obama, pronounced on behalf of Hillary Clinton during the Democratic National Convention of July 2016, despite the defeat of Clinton in 2016.
His line "when they go low, we go high" is still part of the political controversy and has become the unofficial slogan of the Clinton election campaign. In 2008 and 2012, President Barack Obama's campaign advisers named Michelle Obama "the closest". That's not to say that Clinton did not do her share of the campaign's events when she was first lady; Prior to the mid-term elections of 1998, Clinton had visited about 20 states. In 2006, Laura Bush participated in 20 events and raised millions for the Republican Party.
Staying out of the election campaign, Melania Trump reformulates again the traditional definition of "first lady".
"Lady Bird Johnson, Rosalynn Carter and Barbara Bush were each tireless activists," said Brower, pointing out the differences between the first modern ladies and Trump.
Rosalynn numbered her husband's jokes so that he would not repeat anything to the same group, and she would like to say thank you to the people her husband had met during the election campaign, and even started taking memory classes for herself. remember faces and names ran for governor of Georgia, "she said.
Trump is more comparable to Jacqueline Kennedy, said Brower, who felt more of a hindrance than help during John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign. Kennedy was criticized for being too rich, too handsome or "too breathless," Brower said. "Of course, that changed when she became the first lady, when women all over the world tried to dress like her and to comb her hair as if it were hers."
She is also very suspicious of the press, only giving two camera interviews in the past year. She's not a regular at the magazine cover or talk show circuit, just like Michelle Obama, and she has not found a comfortable and consistent seat in Washington's spotlight.
Quiet presence
With the approach of the holidays, the assistants say that Trump will probably not embark on the analysis of elections but in the planning and execution of dozens of events organized by the White House at during the season. Grisham confirmed that it was one of the reasons why the first lady was not touring the countryside.
"It is one of the busiest times of the year for the east wing," said Grisham.
Like the president, she said that she supported men as well as women. Trump also made her first comment on reports of her husband's alleged infidelities, saying the problem did not concern her.
The absence of campaign events and the fervent attachment to her life as a mother (and as a wife who is essentially able to tell sordid stories about his wife) will probably only serve as a good place to go. to continue filling the void of questions about the identity of this first lady. , at its base, and feeds evaluations and speculation of armchairs.
"I think it's helpful and important to know who the first lady is and what she represents," Brower said. "Because Melania has been so reluctant to participate in the election campaign, we may never be able to know what is really important to her."
