Melania Trump has been noticeably absent throughout her husband’s campaign, and eventual success, in the 2016 Presidential Campaign. She briefly appears by his side, waving with a slight smile, but rarely speaking. From the very beginning, she always stated that she preferred to be an out-of-the-spotlight mother to their son, Barron. Her minimal words resurfaced when it came to allegations of sexual assault and sexist comments from her husband, but she made few public appearances and speeches without him. This, of course, includes her infamous speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention that was plagiarized off of a 2008 speech given by Michelle Obama.
So, the true question remains: Who exactly is Melania Trump?
Melania Trump (née Knauss) was a model when she first came to the United States. Soon after, she was married to American businessman Donald Trump and became the mother of his fifth child, Barron Trump.
And, as of Jan. 20, 2017, she is also the First Lady of the United States. She is the spouse of the most powerful person in American politics and holds an influential role herself. But, do the American people know enough about her to trust that she will fulfill the role well?
The role of First Lady has been highly contested and analyzed. Some find the idea of a woman being forced to leave her previous occupation just to support her husband sexist, while others say that it provides a united front for the American people. Whatever your opinions are, there is a consensus that the role, despite not being sufficiently acknowledged by the government, is more influential than others and perhaps even the president. Throughout history, the First Lady has strongly influenced the way that people perceive the current administration, and her actions and decisions have an incredible impact on a global scale.
Throughout the years, the role has obviously changed tremendously. Martha Dandridge Washington, the first to take on the role, was never formally referred to as the “First Lady” in her lifetime, but she was responsible for making guests feel welcome in their home when they were meeting with President Washington. She began the tradition of First Ladies, humanizing their presidential counterparts through being the stereotypical “perfect hostess.” As the years have gone on, the role of the First Lady became more political, as well as more undefined. These women began to define themselves, instead of allowing their husbands to do that. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, for example, catered to the traditional roles of the First Lady but also had an influential political and activist career that helped to better her husband’s ideas as well as her own. Hillary Rodham Clinton relegated her role as First Lady to her daughter to run for New York State Senator and eventually served as Secretary of State under President Barack Obama.
We know these women. We have seen their tireless work impact our very own lives. We appreciate their poise and grace, and many of them may have inspired our lives. Personally, Michelle Obama has been First Lady for a majority of my lifetime, and her intelligence, grace, and poise has been such inspiration for me. The role is more important than anybody realize, and we do not necessarily know whether Melania will be able to fill the shoes she has inherited.
As mentioned previously, Melania scarcely makes public appearances. In one of the few speeches that she has made, she claimed that, as First Lady, she would be an anti-cyberbullying advocate for children across the country. This statement obviously reflects the ironic side to Donald Trump’s campaign, but it was important to understand what kind of First Lady she hopes to be.
Recently, there has been speculation that Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump’s eldest daughter, will be taking over certain duties that are usually allocated for the First Lady. (This has been refuted by Ivanka Trump herself.) This action is not as remarkable as people would like to assume and has actually happened with previous presidents. In fact, Ivanka Trump has had far more of a place in the Trump Campaign than Melania Trump ever did.
From a certain perspective, people see Melania’s distance as a groundbreaking action that differentiates her from other First Ladies and, to a certain extent, can be seen as a feminist action. Her distance represents the idea that a First Lady can and perhaps should have a life that does not revolve around the White House. However, when you look closer at her character, she continually defends a man who has been accused of sexual assault and rape multiple times by multiple women.
So, is Melania Trump really ushering in a new era of First Ladies/Gentlemen who are far removed from their Presidential counterparts? Or does her perceived distance from the campaign say something about the Trump administration as a whole?
Sadly, I don’t have the answers to this question. At this point, I don’t think anybody has the answers to these questions. Only time will truly define who Melania Trump is and will be.
