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Melania Trump didn’t love her time in Washington, D.C. as the First Lady of the United States. She hasn’t even embraced the typical life of a post-White House career, which often includes public speaking and making the rounds on the talk show circuit. Instead, Melania chose to largely retreat from the public eye behind the walls of Mar-a-Lago.
The presidential race has been anything but predictable so far, and before President Joe Biden dropped out of his campaign, Melania had worked out a schedule that required very little of her — a private fundraiser here and there and a one-night cameo at the Republican National Convention. However, the race dramatically changed, and more may be needed from Melania — and it’s enough for her to possibly want Vice President Kamala Harris to win. Based on reports from her inner circle, the last thing she wants is a return to the White House.
A second term is Donald Trump’s dream, not hers. A look back at Melania’s actions in 2017 proves that she wasn’t rushing to get to Washington, D.C. After her husband’s inauguration, she waited six months to move into the White House to let their son, Barron, finish out his school year. Despite the understandable protective-mom move, she didn’t seem very interested in the first lady role to begin with. “This isn’t something she wanted, and it isn’t something he ever thought he’d win,” a Trump family friend told Vanity Fair after the 2016 election. “She didn’t want this come hell or high water. I don’t think she thought it was going to happen.”
Kate Andersen Brower, author of First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies, told SheKnows in August 2023 that Melania is as “much of a cipher now as she was then” because she is “unknowable” in the position of first lady. “Melania Trump revolutionized it in an unusual way because she didn’t move into the White House right away,” she explained. “She didn’t do what we all wanted. She didn’t seem to care about making the public like her. It was bizarre.”
With Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff firmly embracing his campaign role and supporting wife Kamala Harris in the presidential race, there is going to be pressure on Melania to deliver for Donald Trump. With reports that Melania worked out a part-time situation with her husband if he does win the election, The Washington Post associate editor Mary Jordan still doesn’t think Melania will be swayed to do more in the White House if Donald Trump wins the election. “Melania does what Melania wants,” she told Axios. “Her view is unelected, not paid.” She isn’t really interested in the position, so there’s a possibility that a Kamala Harris win would bring nothing but relief to Melania because she has zero political ambitions.
Before you go, click here to see the best presidential love stories in U.S. history.
