Melania Trump refuses to campaign with her husband and might not move back to DC if Donald Trump wins the election.
Author Katie Rogers, who has written a new book on first ladies, told Politico:
Knowing what I know and what my reporting on Melania Trump shows, she likes being first lady. But my reporting does not show that she enjoys campaigning. My reporting does not show that she enjoys defending her husband, as she has been called to do numerous times. And my reporting doesn’t show that she has an interest in returning to Washington full time.
So, I guess taken together, if Trump wins, we could expect a first lady who embraces the role, but possibly, because she was such a norm-breaking figure, takes her time coming to Washington, goes back and forth — that seems possible to me.
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Donald Trump was an absentee president during his first term, and if he wins a second term, his wife might be an absentee first lady.
There is all of this reporting about how Melania Trump likes being the first lady, but she apparently doesn’t want to do any of the job related to being the first lady.
The first spouse is not an official administration position. It doesn’t come with legal authority or salary. The country doesn’t necessarily have to have a first lady, but the president and the first family tend to set a cultural tone and act as an example for the nation.
Melania Trump, like her husband, appears to have no interest in doing for and giving to others. The former first lady won’t even ride in the same car as her husband, so it isn’t surprising that she doesn’t want to live in the White House with him either.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
