Where did Melania Trump go? – release
Radio silence in the east wing. The White House sector reserved for the first ladies is plunged into darkness. The shutters, closed. The weeks go by, and Melania Trump does not show up. Or very little. Two sources knowing the First Lady agenda revealed to New York Times That she had spent less than fourteen days at the White House since her husband’s nomination, now 108 days ago. Others also believe this generous figure. And if officials of the Trump administration assured American daily that the former model honored the White House with his presence much more often than we think, they kicked in touch when they asked them for details.
Abandoning the presidential palace for the New York Trump Tower or the discretion of Mar-A-Lago in Florida, the first lady is however expected in the capital this Thursday, May 8. She must reveal a stamp in the image of her predecessor Barbara Bush, wife and mother of George H. and George W. Bush, before attending a ceremony in honor of mothers of soldiers. It is very few appearances so that in almost four months, These repeated absences Do not become one of the subjects one of the most sensitive subjects in the White House.
« We have not seen such a discreet first lady since Bess Truman, and that goes back almost 80 years », reports to New York Times Katherine Jellison, historian at the University of Ohio, whose research focuses on the companions of presidents. Like Melania Trump, Harry S. Truman’s wife (33ᵉ President of the United States) spent a large part of her time returning « To her home port as soon as she had the opportunity ». For Bess Truman, it was independence (Missouri), the city where it was born (and dead). « She just liked to have her own private world », explains the American historian.
The same goes for the current First Lady, which shines by its absence. Except that unlike the first term of Donald Trump (2016-2020), this time, the American tribune is forced to assume part of his wife’s protocol functions. It was he who chose the Lights of the White House, he who organized receptions for the month of women’s history. He, too, who is illustrated again as an environmental destructive By his wish to concrete and transform into terrace the roseraie that Melania Trump had precisely restored during the previous mandate. The latter would have been « Embarrassed » By her husband’s project, and has since obtained the promise that roses will not be affected.
Even more surprising, it was Donald Trump who appeared when the very first group of tourists came to visit the eastern wing. « The First Lady has worked hard so that everything is perfect, » he assured. But she was not there. On the other hand, do not panic: Melania Trump was well alongside her husband to chair the collection of Easter eggs at the White House last month … But not on a video published on her own Instagram account « Flotus » (First Lady of the United States of America), presenting the new East wing staff.
As the New York Timesduring Donald Trump’s first term, Melania had waited for months before moving to 1600, Pennsylvania avenue. But it’s because his son, Barron Trumpwas only 10 years old and that she was keen to organize her schooling in their new city. Today, the young man is 19 years old and is studying at New York University. « You know, I have the impression that we accompany our children until their 18 or 19 years », had justified Melania Trump on Fox News during a rare interview granted in January before the new Trumpian inauguration. “We teach them. We guide them. And then we give them the wings to fly. ”
The state of health of the relationship Between the two spouses could also play a role on its fleeting character. Between Donald Trump’s public trial for infidelity – He was found guilty in January in the case of occult payments intended to buy the silence of the X star Stormy Daniels – and the attempted assassination of the American president who has « Deeply frightened », Melania Trump seems to accumulate the reasons to keep away from everything related to the White House. Whatever if there is a contradiction with the answer made to Fox News on the way she would distribute her time: “When I have to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I should be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach. But my absolute priority is, you know, to be a mother, a first lady and a wife. ”
