According to multiple sources, Melania Trump has reportedly made an agreement with her husband, former president Donald Trump, that should he win the presidency again, she will not be assuming the traditional, full-time responsibilities of the First Lady. She has once again, as she did during Trump’s four years as president, stated that her focus is on their son, Barron.
The eighteen-year-old graduated from the Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida, a few weeks ago and will be heading to university. However, despite the fact that the start of the academic year is just around the corner, there is still much mystery about which college he will attend or whether in fact he might be taking a gap year.
In April, The Daily Beast reported that Barron had been considering New York University in Manhattan; in August 2023, the Staten Island Advance reported on a set of sportsbook odds that had been released, betting that Barron would be attending college and playing basketball either with St. John’s University or the University of Miami. This month, Donald Trump gave an unspecific update about where his youngest might be heading, saying he was looking at a range of schools.
Melania Trump’s absence from the campaign trail has been noted by various news outlets, with some speculating on the reasons behind her low profile. Historically, spouses of political figures actively participate in campaigns, offering support and helping to humanize the candidate. Melania’s approach deviates from this tradition, which has sparked curiosity and various interpretations. Some suggest that her decision to remain out of the spotlight could be a strategic move, while others believe it may reflect a desire for privacy. Still others suggest she simply is not interested.
In her book, “I’ll Take Your Questions Now” former senior aide to Donald and Melania Trump, Stephanie Grisham, wrote that, “She believed that relaxation was central to one’s beauty regimen, as were, of course, spa treatments and facials”. She also says that Melania’s main “work”, which the public did not see during her White House years, was the hours and hours she spent devoted to copious and detailed photo albums. Grisham says hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs of her time in the White House were pored over and categorized and painstakingly placed into albums. Pictures of herself were scrutinized with a magnifying glass before she selected them.
Melania Trump’s tenure as First Lady of the United States was marked by a blend of traditional and non-traditional roles. Occasionally she expressed a desire to be a First Lady in the image of Betty Ford or Jackie Kennedy. However, she was absent more than she was present in public and when she did appear she frequently looked reluctant. On numerous occasions she became the focus of controversy, as when visiting the southern border at the height of the migrant crisis, she wore a jacket that stated, “I really don’t care, do u?” on the back.
From the start of her tenure as First Lady Melania faced criticism and at times, mockery. A prime example of this was when she chose anti-bullying as her choice of causes to support. This was seen as highly controversial and idiosyncratic, given that her own husband was, and is, widely known as a bully.
During the early months of her husband’s presidency, she refused to live in the White House and remained in their apartment at Trump Tower in New York. Supposedly, this was to allow their son to finish the school year, but rumors were that she was negotiating a deal with her husband, setting down her conditions for agreeing to move to Washington D.C.
This time it seems that her deal making efforts are out in the open.
An insider who may be speaking for Melania anonymously stated, “Barron has never been completely on his own before — and with the added stress of him being both a freshman in college and potentially the son of a president in a predominantly Democratic city, [Melania] wants to be close.”
The source continued, “The added attention he’ll get if his father is president worries Melania who is also concerned about the reaction at his school over Barron’s ever-present Secret Service.”
