Only weeks remain before Melania Trump will once again head to the White House alongside her husband. In January, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, only this time, Melania won’t be joining him full-time.
During their last tenure, Donald and Melania were accompanied by their son, Barron, at the White House, but as the 18-year-old has enrolled in college, that won’t happen either. That’s cited as one of the main reasons why Melania won’t be living at the White House full-time this time around.
Melania Trump is a very proud mother to Barron, and has given all her time and energy to supporting him and shielding him from the media. Now, weeks before the inauguration, the former and future First Lady has broken her silence for the first time since the election, to give an update on her son.
After Donald Trump’s election win in November, things have been quiet surrounding Melania and Barron. The former and future First Lady has stayed outside the spotlight for many months, notably opting not to join her husband on the campaign trail. It wasn’t until late October, during a Trump rally in Madison Square Garden, that Melania made her return.
At the same time, she had also released her memoir, Melania, which revealed many things about her life, as well as aired a number of opinions. One bombshell revelation that she made was that she openly disagreed with her husband’s stance on abortion, stating that she supported women’s reproductive rights.
“It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government,” Melania wrote in Melania.
“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body?” she added. “A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.”
Melania Trump showed “no closeness” after Donald’s election win
Rumors and reports about Melania and her husband’s marriage have been abundant of late. Last year, she renegotiated her prenup in case Donald legal cases at the time bled him dry, and some took the fact that as she wasn’t seen next to her husband in court as a sign that their marriage was on the rocks.
Yet it now appears that Melania and Donald’s marriage is solid as ever, even if one expert claimed on election night that the former wasn’t necessarily excited about the election win.
Donald Trump appeared on stage at West Palm Beach’s Palm Beach County Convention Center to claim his victory and celebrate with his supporters. By his side was Melania, and the two shared a relatively rare moment of public affection. The former The Apprentice star turned to Melania, smiled, and said, “Come here, honey,” as per the Mirror.
The two shared a big hug and exchanged a kiss. While many saw it as a beautiful moment, one body language expert wasn’t so convinced. Darren Stanton stated that Melania was reluctant to walk to her husband on stage, claiming there was “no closeness.”
“When Trump looks back at Melania and gestures to her to come over for a hug, she reluctantly comes forward,” Stanton said. “It’s very disjointed and awkward, and there’s no emotion from her. We don’t see any genuine smiles from Melania, it feels like a smile she has adopted for the occasion.”
Stanton continued: “There’s not the level of emotion you’d expect given her husband has just been elected president. It’s all quite contrived, she’s just reluctant to show any emotion, there’s no real happiness or joy. There’s always an awkwardness with Melania.”
Melania Trump showed off proud moment when Barron voted for the first time
Although Melania stood next to her husband on stage on election night, it was another Trump who stole the show. Barron has been kept out of the spotlight by Melania for many years, who reportedly aimed to ensure he stayed in a “tight bubble” at their Florida home, Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.
The youngest son of the former and future president has just begun a new chapter of his life after graduating from high school this spring. A few months back, Barron enrolled at New York University, where he’s studying at the Stern School of Business.
Barron stood next to his father on election night; earlier the same day, he had joined his mother at the voting booth. Melania celebrated that her 18-year-old son cast his vote for the first time by posting a picture of him from behind at the voting booth.
“Voted for the first time – for his dad!” Melania wrote on X. Fans quickly sent their best regards to Barron, and some even predicted his future – as president.
“That suit. The lines. Flawless. What a sharp young man!” one user wrote.
“I smell a Trump political dynasty,” another stated.
“Future President!” a third user wrote, with another replying, “2044,” as in the year he would become President of the United States.
One user simply stated, “The future President.”
“Looking forward to voting for Barron one day!” another Trump fan wrote.
Why Melania Trump won’t live full-time at the White House
Since Donald’s presidential election win, he has given interviews, traveled to Europe, and, of course, played plenty of golf. In the meantime, Melania has decided to stay out of the spotlight, with many wondering what her plan is for the years to come at the White House. Several sources claimed that Melania will take on all of the duties expected of a First Lady, though this time she won’t live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue full-time.
Sources told CNN that Melania is expected to mainly live at Trump Tower in New York, the better to remain close to her son. According to the news outlet, she will also spend time at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
“She has carte blanche – she can be as active in the East Wing or as inactive as she cares to be,” Kate Bennett, author of Free, Melania, told CNN.
Bennett continued by saying that Melania has decided not to use the past four years to build her own platform, as other first ladies, such as Laura Bush and Michelle Obama, have done before her.
The author and former CNN White House correspondent explained that first ladies “can retreat into relative privacy, but they still maintain the platform agenda that they established. That’s a big rift. We can respect her need for privacy, but we have to question how deeply she did not use her global recognition.”
“This time is different”
Bennett added: “The missed opportunity of this period between her tenure in the White House has been the lack of a continuing platform or policy agenda that most first ladies build on.”
CNN has previously reported that discussions about Melania’s involvement in the Trump Administration are “ongoing.” She has made her first big move, appointing Hayley Harrison as Chief of Staff.
Meanwhile, it’s pretty clear that the Slovenian-born former model is only slightly interested in engaging in any significant political causes. In October, Melania told Fox that a second term in the White House would look different.
“I’m not anxious because this time is different. I have much more experience and much more knowledge. I was in the White House before. When you go in, you know exactly what to expect,” Melania explained.
As mentioned, Melania has been very quiet since Donald’s election win. Just days ago, though, the Slovenian-born former model appeared on Fox & Friends. Melania branded her husband’s win “incredible,” and spoke about how the transition back into the White House is going.
“It’s incredible,” she said. “And, we are very, very busy… I’m establishing my transition team. And also, working on my office, putting my office together, and also, you know, organizing the residence and packing.”
“It’s incredible what you need to do when in that situation,” Melania continued. “This time is very different because we already know where we are going. And, we have all of the plans from before, so we don’t need to go back in,” she said, adding, “My team is in contact with the White House, so, that’s a plus. But we have all what we need.”
Barron Trump praised for role in Donald’s election victory
Melania also fielded questions about Barron after Donald revealed that the youngster had played a crucial part in his presidential campaign
Speaking with the Daily Mail earlier this fall, Donald revealed that Barron helped him connect with Gen Z voters through influences and podcasters.
“He is — he knows so much about it. Adin Ross — you know, I mean I do — some people that I wasn’t so familiar with. Different generation. He knows every one of them. And we’ve had tremendous success, as you know,” Trump told the UK news outlet in early September.
Trump continued: “They don’t grow up watching television the same way as we did. They grow up looking at the internet or watching a computer. But Barron knew them.”
In the Fox interview, Melania praised her son, saying that she is very proud of what he has done.
“He’s a grown young man. I’m very proud of him – about his knowledge, even about politics, and giving advice to his father. He brought in so many young people. He knows his generation,” Melania told Fox.
She added: “He was very vocal. And he gave an advice to his father, and was incredible how he brought in a success because he knew exactly who his father needs to contact and to talk to.”
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