Several weeks back, Page Six promised that Vanity Fair was working on an exposé of Melania Trump. Sources claimed that VF reporter Evgenia Peretz was trying to do interviews with anyone and everyone close to Melania, although Melania’s people were trying to shut it down as much as they could. In the end, VF did publish a lengthy piece about Melania and while it is critical and “scathing” in some sense, it’s not the full-on exposé of Melania Trump many of us were hoping for. It’s most just gossip and stories about how her marriage is awful and she married a terrible man. You can read the full piece here. Here’s some of the stuff I learned:
Her mantra is “I’m not a nagging wife.” Sources all claim that she enjoys “stepping back” and “not making waves” and “She speaks only when spoken to. She’s just very sweet.”
But she hates her life now: She doesn’t give a sh-t about being First Lady, nor does she want to move to DC, sources say. She’s allegedly unhappy and she and Donald are not particularly close.
Her early days as a model in New York: Photographer Matthew Atanian says she “had little interest in nightlife or making friends. When she went out, it seemed to be with older men, only for dinner, and she always came home before her roommate had gone out.” Melania was all-work: “she wore ankle weights around the apartment and the common areas. She would strictly eat five to seven vegetables and fruits every day. She drank a lot of water . . . . She was looking to make money [as a model].” Still, at the age of 26, she was barely getting any modeling work and “She was always kind of a stiff person. That’s why she wasn’t a successful model, because she couldn’t move.”
When Melania met Donald: Her friends teased her about Trump and she would always tell them “He’s a real man.” She went into the relationship with her eyes wide open though – photographer Harry Benson says, “All these European models, they’re tough as hell. They know what they’re doing. They’ve been watching the Americans forever.” Melania and Donald always had an understanding – he could do whatever he wanted and she would get a nice home and money. He enjoyed showing her off and she finally got to pose for some magazine editorials as his girlfriend.
Their relationship was always based on her praising him: Michael D’Antonio, author of The Truth About Trump, recalls the exchanges he witnessed between her and Donald at Trump Tower. “He begged her to praise him [to me] as a husband . . . . Literally, he said, ‘Tell him I’m a really good husband.’ She looked at him, and he repeated himself. And she said, ‘Yeah, he’s a really good husband.’ It was being dragged out of her,” says D’Antonio. Then she repeated a story D’Antonio had already heard from Trump: Tom Cruise once called Donald to see if he could use the Wollman skating rink in Central Park (which Trump had renovated with much fanfare in 1986) during off-hours. Donald was very flattered that the actor had called him personally—but Melania pointed out, “Oh, but, Donald, you’re more famous than he is.” Trump seemed to feel that this story was “an example of their affection,” recalls D’Antonio. “Praising his fame, hyping his fame, was a wifely duty. The people in Trump’s orbit have all memorized the same stories. And they repeat them word for word.”
Her pregnancy: About six months after they married, she became pregnant with Barron—and things changed, according to one source. She was 35—“checkout time” for women, as Trump once told Howard Stern-and no longer the dewy fox he’d met seven years earlier. A visitor to one of Trump’s homes, late into Melania’s pregnancy, recalls him remarking that he agreed to the baby on the condition that Melania would get her body back. “She promised him that everything would go back to the way it was,” says this guest; it struck this person as a “contract.” And he was simply rude to her. “There was no ‘How do you feel?’ No opening of doors, making sure she didn’t fall. Just ‘You wanted to have a baby.’”
Melania really doesn’t give a sh-t about anyone or anything except Barron: She never did charity work or anything philanthropic. Her biggest interests seem to be “maintaining her beauty” and her son. It’s said she’s taught him Slovenian and they speak to each other in that language. It’s said that she’s devoted to him and that he is “sweet and well-behaved.” Still, sources claim that Melania still hasn’t found a school for Barron in DC, and Barron’s current school in New York is experiencing some terrible times with all of the added security. Parents are really unhappy.
The East Wing. One person points out that: “A First Lady comes in with seasoned partnerships. You come in with a staff, your people. They have no people. Look who was at Thanksgiving: Don King and Fabio.”
[Paraphrased from Vanity Fair]
There’s a lot of stuff about how horrified she was when she inadvertently plagiarized Michelle Obama (because she didn’t write that speech at all) and how she and Ivanka have a “frosty” relationship. I mean, some of the stories in this piece do make me feel something resembling sympathy for Melania. But this was the faustian bargain she made, and her friends make it clear that she really did go into the marriage with her eyes wide open. Sigh…
Photos courtesy of Getty, Fame/Flynet and WENN.
I’m sorry but I do not think people should be judging First ladies or children who do not work in the administration.
Really?! I judge everyone…the lady across from me on the bus, the man who sneezed and didn’t cover his mouth, my boss, my co-workers, the gym trainers, the mail person, my friends, myself…I don’t act on it and I’m not malicious about it. It’s natural…if they’re in my line of vision, I’m sizing them up… consciously or not.
Judge away…just don’t be a d!ck about it.
IMO children should be off-limits in any forum. You can judge all you want in your owm mind.
Also, I think @Cara meant as a First Lady. Meaning, she has no role whatsoever and only in the USA do we care so much about the President’s wife*. In my country or in the country where I live, the President or the Prime-Minister are autonomous and it’s no one’s business what they do and what they don’t. Sometimes there is an article or an interview but very seldom.
Edit: *wife or husband of course.
Slowsnow: totally, kids are off limits… I judge their parents anyway. Kid’s an @sshole? Parents probably are too.
In a public role? Judging the sh!t outta you.
Married to Donny T?! Simultaneously looking down on you and judging you.
@slowsnow:
Except in the US that’s not the expectation of First Spouses, not anymore. Is she legally required to have some pet charity? No, but the optics aren’t good. I know this was brought up on CB since she became FL, that maybe she’d change that expectation, shake things up. But this is Melania, she’s not going to upend the expectations of what a first spouse is supposed to do, that’s not her style.
You can train yourself out of those habits. It affects your behaviors subconsciously if you judge people all the time.
It must be exhausting.
Apology accepted. I will continue to judge away.
Amanduh, word! Our president is a circus clown and his wife a trained concubine? That’s ripe for judgement even by people who don’t judge. That’s what I’m here for.
I agree. She very visibly does not want to have a role either so this just seems like a nasty past-time, trying to find depth in the most superficial of all realities: a kept woman who is unwilling to give in to journalists, politics, social issues and any other things unrelated to her own comfort and private life.
Slow
She may not have wanted the role, but she’s taken it. It comes with duties. She could have stepped aside. Not stood with her husband through 2 presidential campaigns. Not stood up as a woman who wanted the role and spoke of the role of first lady like this was important to her. But! She did. And she could have stepped aside still. It’s entirely possible for the presidents wife to not take on the responsibilities of the 1st lady. But, she didn’t do that. And she is taking the benefits and then some continuing to not live where all her duties would be executed. And a safer location for her son.
So, shade all the way. Multiple times to walk away. Multiple loopholes. Multiple perks to refuse. She’s taking them all and refusing duties unless the optics of her absence is too great. If it involves Trump and huge mesia. She’s there. If it is just what duties come with her role? Nope.
So does that mean Eric and Jr. are off limits, since they don’t work for the administration. Or do you mean Barron?
As for Melania, she’s a public figure, has been for years. So she’s going to be judged. She may not have wanted to be first lady but she is now. And while I don’t blame her for staying in NYC, my tax money is paying for that, so I’m going to judge.
Eric and Jr are not children. They’re adults
Yes, Beth, they are adults, but they, and Ivanka and Tiffany, are often described as Trump’s children, which they are. And Cara did say ‘who don’t work in the administration’ which includes Eric, Jr. and Tiffany as well as Barron. I’m being a grump and asking her to be more specific.
Yeah, @ cr. You’re definitely being grumpy. Barron is a little kid who didn’t choose to be in the public eye. I feel bad for Barron. Trumps adult children are not hiding. It is well known that the adults are using taxpayers money to travel the world on business trips to make the family richer. The adults are also spending our money on their vacations and everyone sees it. We have the right to talk about what his grown-up children are doing
You are right I should have been more clear, I absolutely consider going on TV promoting Trump’s policies working for the administration. Eric and Don Jr are fair game.
@Beth: “Barron is a little kid who didn’t choose to be in the public eye. ”
I may be grumpy, but in my my first comment I asked her to clarify whether she meant Barron or the adults, so I’ll clarify: Barron is off limits, the adults are not.
*Sigh*
These are the same excuses some were using to excuse Ivanka Trump’s role in helping her father get elected. Melania was also just as helpful. She came to his defense at the 2nd most important point-his sexual assault of women to call it ‘locker room talk’. Then she started the campaign against internet bullying. LOL. She allowed herself to be used as the model for “proper immigration” even though we know she didn’t do it 100% legally. Trump would not have been elected if the three women supporting his campaign (Kellyanne, Ivanka, Melania) had not been there to allow so called moral people to excuse his sexist behavior.
She chose her comfort and lifestyle over all the people who have suffered from Trump’s policies. Her son is important to her, I admire her for being a good loving mom but Moms being deported leaving their children behind/Moms who have children with pre-existing health problems/Moms stuck with their kids in war zones who can’t immigrant to the USA, etc. also care about their children.
She more than anyone knew how horrible her husband was and instead of getting a divorce and leaving him, supported him all the way to the presidency. I mean who wouldn’t stop the next dictator of the free world if they could??? Anyway, I don’t think she should be attacked viciously but she should be held accountable for her role in Trump Inc.
Nobody is judging Barron Trump so stop trying to protect his scummy parents with that line. Melania Trump is costing tax payers millions of dollars a day unnecessarily. She can either move her pampered ass to Washington DC OR she can book a flight out of JFK, take her kid and her parents, fly to another country, and file for divorce.
I happen to think the spouse of a president should be allowed to live where they like whatever the cost. She did not ask for a target on her back. She – like all other First ladies – should be able to live her life and do so without fear.
@Cara Exactly. I find it bewildering how suddenly the most vapid of women, Melania, is scrutinised and analysed as if she had anything to do with her husband. Don’t get me wrong, I have no sympathy for her whatsoever but this lack of sympathy does not blind me.
The USA is a target and so are its governement members and spouses too perhaps but I also believe that a woman is not her husband’s thing. If being the FL makes it so, than the status of the POTUS in America is an obsolete one.
@Cara and slowsnow: If Melania wants nothing to do with Trump, fine. But don’t do so at the expense of US taxpayer money. Do it with Trump money. That’s not lack of sympathy, that’s reality. She doesn’t a get a free pass just because you’ve decided she should.
We haven’t decided, @cr, it’s the basics of feminism. You are not your husband’s property or thing. If your husband has a high position of power and the government thinks you have to be protected, then the money has to be used to protect her. I mean it’s not more expensive than all the stupid gala, Egg hunts s and dinners they throw all the time.
“We haven’t decided, @cr, it’s the basics of feminism. You are not your husband’s property or thing.”
Except in this case it’s not about being your husband’s property, it’s about how the family is represented to the world, and how you represent the US, both internally and domestically. Is it archaic? Yes. Would Michelle have preferred to work a ‘real’ job? Would have Hillary or Laura Bush? Probably. But they found their passion projects.
Are you really comparing the cost of keeping Melania and Barron in NYC to the cost of state dinners and other events held on WH grounds?
So yes, if she wants to stay in NYC the Trumps get to pay for it.
That’s not being mean, that’s not being hateful, I’m not going to give her a pass because some people have now decided that the role of First Spouse is outdated.
The secret service is set up to protect the president at the White House and one other location. Bush had his ranch. The Clinton’s used Camp David. The problem with the Trumps is that they have three locations: the White House, Trump Tower, and Mar-a-Lago (or, as I like to call it Dach-a-Lago). If Melania refuses to come to D.C., so be it, but she and Barron need to move to Florida or Trump needs to spend his weekends at Trump Tower.
The president has a huge budget for protection and they are balantly abusing it. As an elected official, Trump is accountable to tax payers.
@cr @Megan I see your point but I find it much more problematic what the other members of the family are spending. Namely the Mar-a-Lago week-ends and state dinners meetings and international affairs dinners. All this summed up to the stupid galas and egg-hunts, yes. This all accumulates. Also, this daughter’s use of the WH and his sons and SIL. And why is does the FL in the USA have to stop her life and ‘represent’ the country and not the FL in other countries? Again, it’s archaic as you say, should be revised and we should be the ones to accuse who really should be accused and not the collateral damagers.
@slowsnow: But you don’t see our point, you really don’t, you’re concern trolling about poor Melania and the archaic nature of the FL, but you’re really giving her a pass.
@cr
I do understand that this woman is selfish and is using the government’s money to enjoy her priviledge, but where you draw the line to that priviledge is something else. Someone said she should pay for security. This is the wealthiest WH in the history of the country. If you ask me, yes, I would like her (who am I kidding, HIM you see THIS IS THE WHOLE PROBLEM) to pay for her security, for sure. I agree with you that there is context and there are things to criticise. After all she put herself in this situation. However, I don’t think she signed up for this and I truly suspect she does not have the brains or the disposition to understand more than “I want to stay away from him’. He is a predator. This is not about pitying her or not, that’s a childish perspective IMO.
@slowsnow: the WH is big enough that she and Barron can live there and not see Trump unless they want to.
@cara, taxpayer should NOT have to pay for this. Ignorant nonsense! Trump is making millions of dollars by having the government actually pay him for security to protect his wife every day. Every weekend they come to Florida, the government pays him for secret service to stay at his resort. The town Palm Beach has to pay ten of thousands for police over time and businesses are losing money when the airport is closed and streets are closed when Trump is there every single weekend. The millions of dollars could be used to help pay for programs he’s cutting. Thousands could be fed by Meals on Wheels if this conversation man didn’t go golfing every weekend. No pity for Melania. If she’s unhappy, she can get a divorce like his other wives did. I feel pity for those losing out because this con man doesn’t give a f*ck about anyone but himself . Some Trumpsters don’t want to see the facts
@Cara, I happen to notice that you completely sidestepped out of responding to my point that you falsely accused people of attacking Barron.
As for Melania, no, she isn’t his property but couples make joint decisions all the time about applying for jobs that will require relocation. If either of these two scum, and they are scum, bothered to check the job description, they would have known that this job would require relocation. What Cara and Slowsnow are saying is that this woman has no say whatsoever in her own marriage, that she is somehow her husband’s victim. Rather amusing considering one of them admits to supporting him. Nobody is saying that the First Lady does not require security protection; that’s just yet another smokescreen thrown up by Trump supporters to defend the waste of tax dollars. However, this duo of thieves are billing the Secret Service $3 million a year to rent space to protect her. Several other million are being billed by this duo to the Department of Defense because it needs to keep space near the residence too. That’s in addition to the millions she is costing the citizens of New York. These scum are profiting off of us the taxpayers when all that could be reduced considerably if she either moved her pampered butt to the White House or ended this marriage that you seem to be claiming victimizes her.
I feel sorry for the kid. He always looks miserable, and his parents obviously dislike each other. His dad is an a$$ of epic proportions. I’m glad that he and his mom are tight, but I am not thrilled to pay for her to live in NYC and not staff the East Wing properly.
My husband and I looked at a montage of first couples exiting Air Force One. The Trumps looked bad. I’ll take my sweet husband who holds my hand down steep stairs and our quiet middle class life over marrying a jerk for money. BTW, the Reagans and the Obamas had the cutest Air Force One photos.
@ Cara, as expats, I am required to live where my husband is send to work and we get paid the house and the school. If I don’t like it, we have 2 options a) husbands quits job, b) I live somewhere else but carry all the costs -house, school, travelling,.
Why is it for them different?
She is, like Ivana, such a complicit in her husbands carrier. I remember her television interviews after pussygate, If my husband would say anything like that , I wouldn’t be ‘boys will be boys’ , he would be talking to my lawyer.
Yeaaaa that’s not how the First Lady role works so judge away. Have you always felt this way or is it just now for “poor Melania”? I personally don’t feel sorry for her she pushed her husbands sh*t views for years. Now because she got the role she didn’t want I’m supposed to feel bad for her? No way. She got into bed with an @$$ who was only interested in her looks so she could get a green card. I don’t feel bad for her
I have always felt this way. Why is your earliest assumption that I am being a hypocrite?
Trump trolling
@Cara, because you falsely accused people of going after the kid and when it was repeatedly pointed out to you that nobody went after the kid and you were falsely accusing people of doing so, you still didn’t address your false accusations against people and when it was pointed out to you that she is deliberately wasting millions of tax dollars a day, you falsely accused me of saying she should be without security? Maybe that’s why?
So true! Nobody judged Hillary and Rush Limbaugh absolutely did not call 12 year old Chelsea “the WH dog.”🙄🙄🙄
Not a single person said one bad word about Michelle or her mother or Malia or Sasha. Never ever.
But I do have sympathy for Barron. Reading that paragraph in the VF story explains why there seems to be so little interaction between him and his father. And if melania can protect him from becoming a “trump” a la ivanka, uday and qusay, good for her.
I am puzzled by your comment or I just did not understand it right. So you say that because the ‘other side’ said horrible things about Chelsea, Malia and Sashia we sould do the same to poor Barron – who, truly, is the only person to defend in this story about horrible people around such as his own mother, his father and his adult half-brothers and sisters?
I just loathe it when things get confused and anger moves us on all disparate ways. I understand Melania is a nuisance for NY and for the parents of the kids Barron goes to school with. However, there are far worse and more pressing problems than wondering if the was an escort or not, if I should pity her or not.
Edit: I reread your comment and realise you said you have sympathy for Barron.
Uday and Qusay – so right!
@slowsnow. Yes, I do have sympathy for Barron and for every other child thrust into such a situation. Leave ALL of them alone. But they have never been left alone, ever, and I pointed that out. You can look back through every presidency, Democrat or Republican, and children have been attacked. It used to be only the teen or young adult children, but it got really nasty when right wingers went in on pre-teens Amy Carter and Chelsea Clinton. I have never attacked Barron and dismissed those allegations of autism – he just seemed quiet and reserved to me.
As for melania, she can be faulted for not doing even the bare minimum as FL, but protecting Barron from his father is a plus to me.
@SusanneToo
Unfortunately you are absolutely right. I remember the comments about Chelsea because I was about her age and it felt horrible. I imagined myself in her place. Thus my comment upthread about not being blinded by hate.
@Slowsnow for the sake that all that breathes, throw away that script that requires Trump supporters to accuse people of attacking Barron whenever the money Melania is stealing from the taxpayers is brought up. Yes, I see you did back down on that but you quickly rushed in to accuse falsely without bothering to read first. It is really tiresome.
She needs to plan a Katie Holmes exit.
This might be a bit controversial, but I think so far people have been pretty good about Barron, and jumped on people when they said he may have autism, one factor might be because he is a boy. Seriously, we beat up on girls from the get go, and boys get a bit of a pass. We seriously need to think about the different ways we view boys and girls.
I think the children should be left alone too, but they usually get some criticism, and some has been viscious. First Ladies, sorry that is a public office and unless you decline it all, which believe it or not Melania has not she does have some staff, then you are free reign for criticism. If we were just allowed to criticize paid staff, Ivanka- who isn’t paid but with a staff and acting like an employee, and even the President who is now finally giving his salary away shouldn’t be criticized. I don’t think so.
I wonder about some people’s motives on here too. Was it alright to criticize Sasha, Malia and Chelsea, but now no. How many people thought it was okay to criticize Mechelle’s sleeveless arms and her telling us to eat vegetables, but now Melania is fine in no sleeves, and see she eats five vegetables a day. Not saying you personally are this way, but there is a lot of hypocrisy in the world today.
I don’t think anyone here is suggesting the kid’s fair game because of the nastiness that always swirls around presidential offspring. I certainly wouldn’t be part of that dog pile.
But some of the usual suspects who reveled in taking (often blatantly racist) potshots at the Obama girls have absolutely no claim to the high ground now.
uday and qusay. Spot on. I am scared to ask which one of them is one and who’s the other, not that it matters other than for the sake of differentiation between those two.
Melania made a stink about the story the DM ran about her past as an escort because it harmed her image and the money making potential of the role of FLOTUS. She totally intends to cash in in being first lady, she sees it as a way to line her own pockets. She doesn’t give a shit about the job at all except that it has boosted her profile and she can launch her own range of spoons or whatever. As far as I’m concerned, she’s open for judgement.
Underage children are off limits. Adult children who are griffters are fair game. As is the First Lady. She may not want any part of the role of the First Lady. But she is costing taxpayers millions of dollars with her refusal to move to the White House. That means she can be criticized.
Sorrynotsorry, but she was happy to go on a shopping channel to hock her tacky jewelry and use it as a platform for her husband’s (racist) birther nonsense, happy to present herself as the “right kind of immigrant” when she had in fact worked in the US illegally, and happy to dismiss her husband’s fondness for sexual assault as “boys will be boys”. She absolutely campaigned for the position she now finds herself in.
yeah, I don’t see how people don’t get this. she put HERSELF into the public and political eye with her shilling of her own brand, while at the (LITERAL) same time, was spouting racist birther crap.
so no, she absolutely doesn’t get a pass. leave Barron alone, sure, but she’s fair game.
This! Thanks Kyra
Was pretty sure they were headed for a divorce post election and they were both shocked when he actually won. Now she’s stuck with him and looks like she’s internally screaming when they are forced to interact. She’s a birther and a grifter also, so no sympathy, but she needs to move to DC or divorce him and move on. I personally feel like the Trump name is going to be a huge liability and scorned after these terrible years, so I’m looking forward to that downfall.
I judge her for being a lying, plagiarizing racist asshole.
Cara is a proud Trump voter, I wouldn’t take her seriously.
Come on. Let’s not do this. If she is, she is very polite and even corrected herself. Take this as an opportunity to talk to someone who doesn’t agree with you. I sure find it hurtful that someone would vote for Trump but this constant unwillingness here in CB threads to admit that Trump voters can talk, and even write and have articulated opinions is too old. If only.
@slowsnow Cara can voice her opinions, but everyone else is free to respond.
Going back all the way to Martha Washington, there is an unwritten contract between the FL and the American people. Presidents who were unmarried recruited other female family members to act as FL because the role is so important. To compare Melania’s security costs to state dinners and ceremonial events is inaccurate and lazy. There are national and diplomatic expectations of the president and FL and the Trumps are failing in every way possible.
Precisely. Let’s stop humoring her.
slowsnow, I agree. If someone is willing to converse, is polite and willing to listen, I don’t think she should be reduced to a redneck cariacature because she may have voted for Trump. Unfortunately, it seems to be going that way online. It’s you’re with me or against me; there’s no middle.
I think Trump voters made a huge mistake, but I’m willing to talk to them if they show me the same respect.
@slowsnow, sorry but falsely accusing people of attacking Barron is not polite and she has not apologized or admitted that she was wrong to do so.
@slowsnow, of course she’s allowed to talk and give her opinion. However, there are many other places online when I politely give my opinion, I’m attacked by Trumpsters with pitchforks. I’m only safe here. Believe me, people have been a trillion times more rude to me than we are being to @cara! It’s not rude for us to give our opinions even if we don’t agree and aren’t vicious about it
@slowsnow: Considering that Cara basically said in another of today’s articles that as long as there’s a Republican in the WH, she doesn’t care what they’re like as people, I don’t think that she’s the kind of person to engage in a dialogue with.
😞I fell for the troll. S**t.
Actions and beliefs mean more than politeness in the long run. If at this point someone is still among the 96 percent of Trump supporters who still don’t regret their decision and would do it again, polite debate doesn’t really mean a thing. Babying them won’t make a difference.
Minor children are absolutely off limits. And I don’t think that the spouse of any president should automatically be expected to serve as First Spouse–if they do not want to serve that role, they should not have to. The whole First Lady concept is sexist and needs to go.
That said, this woman has undertaken the public role as FL (now and then) and thus is *very much* part of the administration. Her recently successful lawsuit for damages to her reputation and potential damage to her ability to profit from her “brand” over the next several years…clearly as FL…shows that she accepts the role as First Lady of the US.
As for his adult children, whether officially in the administation or not they all heavily protected, not by private security, but by the taxpayer funded Secret Service. They also work very hard to stay in the public eye via broadcast media, social media and their business advertising. If the Trumps wanted a clear barrier between the “Trump Brand” and the presidential administration they could have (*should* have) had it….by creating legitimate blind trusts, and following clear and long-established ethical protocols followed by previous administrations. The Trumps are playing by their own rules, which seem clear only to them, and that makes it *necessary* that journalists look thoroughly and closely.
Add to that the cost of their lifestyle is a major burden to the tax payers of NYC and the US. Talking about the cost of the Secret Service protection isn’t attacking Barron.
@Cara. This is your comment on today’s trump thread. How do you write English perfectly above and gibberish on the other thread?
“Cara says:
April 24, 2017 at 8:32 am
I voted for Trump would infidelity vote for him over any democrat. Would love to see him primaries though in 2019 by a proper conservative (or impeached for that matter).”
Because “she” is a troll.
Cara seems to be pretty busy today on all the threads….merrily trolling along.
The word troll seems liberally applied to anyone with a right leaning political voice who has the temerity to post here more than once. It’s intent is to be personally dismissive. Why not just discuss the issues without calling someone names ?
Oh please, there’s nothing brave about an internet commenter defending their complicity in a deadly, xenophobic, anti woman, racist , religious fundie-sanctioned administration online. She didn’t even have the temerity to vote against her own party.
I didn’t vote for either of them myself, but the vitriol of both sides is disheartening. The treatment of the left to right voters pretty much mirrors the claims of the left about the right, The saying about not wrestling with a pig comes to mind……I can’t tell the difference.
That’s just a proofreading problem. “Infidelity” is obviously what autocorrect thought a misspelling of “definitely” was. “Primaries” is just the same for “primaried” (a real word), which my own autocorrect kept rewriting as “primaries” for me (twice before it finally let it stand).
Between wild autocorrect and tiny screens, I no longer judge. There is even a lag time for autocorrect, so it will let the proper words stand until just before I hit send…. CB is one of the few sites that at least allow editing for a short time.
Judging a First Lady does always have a whiff of being unfair. Because First Lady isn’t a job. It is a “side effect” that happens to a woman if her husband becomes president.
It is probably true that the professional (political) wifes of professional politicians bring their staff to the White House. But that is exactly the point. Neither is Trump a professional politician nor is his wife a professional (political) wife of a professional politician.
I do feel ever so slightly sorry for Melania and I hope she makes the best out of that.
But I bet you judged Michelle Obama and HRC.
Children should be all limits. But first ladies have always been judged. Your husband runs for and gets elected President, it’s a packaged deal. And Michelle Obama had to deal with far worse for eight years: being compared to apes and monkey’s, being called a man, constant talk about looks. Melania is getting off easy and most are actually more sympathetic toward her than they should be in my opinion.
She participated in birtherism. She went on national TV and excused the “boy talk.” She said she was going to take on various FL platforms. Instead, she’s done fck-all. She’s costing taxpayers millions b/c she can’t even be bothered to go stay at the rump place even in Jersey while the kid finishes school – no no, must stay in the golden tower smack in the middle of Manhattan, costing as much money and headache as possible, fck everyone else. She sued over her ability profit off of flotus role. Also, this “contract” essentially = selling her soul for the money her husband has grifted off the backs of others.
So yeah, I will judge the ever living sht out of her and make absolutely no apologies for it, ever. She can fck ALL the way off, right along with her “husband” and the spawn (except Baron, who gets a pass b/c he’s too young although my hopes are not high for him considering what he’s surrounded by.)
As long as taxpayers pay for ANY part of her lifestyle Melania Trump works for us. If Melania doesn’t like it she can reimburse the US government & get a divorce. Otherwise any complaints she has she can forward to her husband.
Ummm…..no.
Does someone on welfare work for (and answer to) us as taxpayers?
Yeah, WTF?? This isn’t the 19th century. First lady isn’t just a choice, it’s an active effort to partner with one’s spouse. Divorce isn’t just socially acceptable, it’s expected in their world. She didn’t have to stand by him. (Having said that, I think there’s a very real possibility that her safety was threatened if she didn’t. Still don’t care. She kbew he was a monster when she married him).
I totally agree with underage children being off limits, but not adult children and not adult first ladies who defend their husband like Melania has.
If my tax dollars are going towards her gold digging her way to to China , I will judge and even put on a black robe and get a lady justice bobble head. I’m sorry for reacting like this towards you.. but not her, because enough is enough. I have not mosquito itch of respect for her. She is smarter than appears and is a dodge drifter just like her hubby and thugs. She is a lazy and self centered and manipulative by playing the media and pretending squinty eyes =blind. Nope! Maybe her anti bullying campaign will change me….
Only Barron shouldn’t be judged as he is a minor and doesn’t work for his dad. The rest of them do work for Trump, Ivanka even has her own office in the WH and Melania too has her own office in the WH- she just hasn’t taken up her post yet but is choosing to waste New York state’s and federal money on her security! Perhaps Melania should move to Florida, a state that went for Trump and Floridans can see their tax dollars go to
Protect her lazy ass.
I don’t feel sorry for her. She knew exactly what she’s doing when she started dating this orange thing. I do feel sorry for Barron because I don’t think Trump cares about him. He seems to spend more time with Ivanka’s children.
And I don’t think she feels sorry for herself. She has her son, her life in ny, and lots of money, which is what she wanted.
True, so why should we feel sorry for her?
Well, originally her deal with Trump was that she played the beautiful doting wife with no social ambitions and a lot of cultural sophistication or political nous or public speaking weren’t part of the deal.
But when Trump became president he changed that deal and he probably didn’t ask Melania for her agreement to the changes.
Info: changing deals or contracts requires the explicit agreement of all parties. Changes made to a contract by just one party aren’t legally binding.
Obviously part of the deal was to praise her husband to media also, as the story itself reveals. I would not take seriously anything she says in public for that reason.
I suggest people do some serious reading about husbands with narcissistic personality disorder before judging her further. He very likely did not show all his true colors until after the marriage contract was signed. Trump is a malicious and vengeful man. He is quite capable of threatening to (and succeeding in) taking her child away from her. She is going to do whatever he wants her to do until her son is no longer in direct danger.
I don’t feel sorry for her nor do I feel scorn. A lot of women choose to do what she did. Is it all that surprising? Marriage for a lot of people is a business arrangement. Most women with ambition either work hard to have a career and/or marry above her station to a wealthy man, his personality be damned. Are there really that many “nice” wealthy men in this world? I don’t think so. Most are philanderers, trust fund children, and/or walk on top of others to climb the ladder. She was not a successful model, so she married Trump so that she and her child would never have to worry about money again. I don’t hate her for it. She obviously is not well-suited for the first lady role but she’ll get through it and die a very wealthy woman whatever she chooses to do in the future, whether it is to support her husband or divorce him. To me she is just as she appears: a cold and calculating trophy wife with very little to say or do other than be a mother to Barron. What she does or doesn’t do has little to do with what Trump and his administration does in terms of policy and practice.
Well it’s quite obvious that she never wanted to be First Lady. Ivanka is Donald’s First Lady.
Actually, no, she isn’t. If she were, the inaugural luncheon wouldn’t have been screwed up, the White House would not have been closed to tours for so long, and the Easter Egg Roll would have gone off smoothly. Ivanka isn’t interested in the event planning job of the First Lady. Princess Nagini is more interested in using the influence of the White House to make international business deals for herself at the expense of the American taxpayer.
+1,000 Ivanka is grifter-in-chief.
I don#t quite get why Easter Egg Roll wasn’t a prime occasion for Melania. She should have grabbed it.
Which, given some of the comments her father has made about her over the years, is just all kinds of EW.
On John Oliver’s show yesterday, he showed a clip of Ivanka and the Cheeto being interviewed. They asked her first what she had in common with her father. She said “golf and real estate”. He said “sex” *vomit* 🤢 In *what world* does your FATHER say that about you????
@imqrious. trumpworld.
More importantly – Donald wants his daughter Ivanka to play the First Lady role. Melania is well past her sell-by date to him. She isn’t in DC because Donald doesn’t want her there. He doesn’t like her. His daughter is younger and much more useful to him. He orders Melania to come along only when he thinks it might help a deal or might deflect from something he’s trying to hide.
dont you mean “…promised to GET her body back”?
No sympathy….reap what you sow?!
I have no sympathy for her. She chose this. I will save my sympathy for all of the people that will suffer under the lunatic in chief.
Exactly.
Absolutely. And I fear it will be many, many people. I’ll be interested in this one when she coughs up her immigration paperwork, as promised last year.
I’d love to see their prenup. Would be interesting to know how much money she’d get if one of them filed for divorce.
He’ll divorce her butt when he gets tired of her. And she’ll get minimal monies. One of his trophy wives, probably Ivana, said that her pre-nup detailed how all The Donald’s gifts to her had to be returned upon divorce. And The Donald himself said to an associate, “Give her nothing. Why would you promise your wife fungible assets?”
Trump’s gifts are gifts in name only. Vanity Fair detailed last year how he gave a man a piece of jewelry that had a diamond. The “diamond” turned out to be cubic zirconia.
That is probably why she wanted a child.
So she couldn’t get modeling work and she only went out to dinner with older men? It sounds like someone is politely implying she was a paid escort.
Yep.
My thoughts exaclty.
Or, she was trying to find a safe harbour, someone who would provde for her as her modelling was going nowhere.
Now she has a son and she dedicates her whole life to him.
‘Stiff’ is a good word to describe her: she seems humourless, boring, looking for comfort, her own beauty and beautiful (expensive) things around her.
Yeah, but they’re also specifying that she always came home early and was in for the night.
So if they’re implying she’s a paid escort they’re also implying that she was literally just going as arm candy, not for sex.
That isn’t an unusual arrangement. Rich men especially want arm candy that will treat them nicely, and sexual services may not be so important to them. Even non-rich men often are looking for someone to talk with. I’ve heard professional prostitutes say that is a bigger part of the job (and sometimes the whole job) than many people realize. Some men are really that lonely.
I am glad someone noticed that as well! Plus the comment ” she was barely getting any modelling work” . So how was she supporting herself all that time?
By going out on dates. Free dinner right there.
Selling off gifts that were maybe given to her? Sounds like she was dating really old guys. Desperate opens up the wallet.
Megan – exactly
I think that part of the description that said that Melania was home early is included to indicate there was no sex involved. I think some newspaper over here in Europe lost a law suit when they claimed Melania had worked as an escort/pro.
Yes, the Daily Mail (aka Daily Fail).
Why would anyone feel sorry for this woman? Oh, and the reason she wasn’t getting work when she first became a model wasn’t because she was so stiff. It’s because her look was a dime a dozen.
The article wasn’t exactly a hatchet job, but it did make clear that the Trumps are not part of the social circuit, which involves picking pet charities and going to each other’s galas. It said all Melania does is read fashion magazines and go to Pilates. She basically doesn’t give a sh*t about anybody else (except Barron, whose school is not happy about having a security threat around so Donald gave them a few million). She dated him for SEVEN YEARS and people teased her about him, but she stuck with it since “modeling” was not working out….
It did point out that the night of the election she was wearing a pants suit as if she was ready to take off to mar a lago. Instead… he won.
The only inch of simpathy I have for her is when I think about her self esteem issue. Whatever she told herself to justify this pseudo-relatioship, It’s obvious that she must have some deep routed problems. And why bringing a child into This mess?!!
$$$
Yes! I don’t have sympathy for Melania individually, she was a full-blown adult, and she knew what she signed up for. I do feel very sad about women who still have such low self-esteem that they let situations like this happen to them.
She had no other options. For real.
No good model despite having model body. Perhaps not high fashion but she is definitely beautiful and has some European looks with some exotic thrown in.
She has no education. And I bet she hasn’t picked up much “cultural education” on the way as she doesn’t care about art or art committees or similar which would provide some cultural sophistication as well.
She still doesn’t speak English very well as she still has a heavy accent.
I think that Melania understood that Donald felt threatened by women who are smart and educated. (That was allegedly a problem in his marriage to smart Ivana.) So Melania didn’t pursue that.
Slovenia is a rather poor country and you don’t get anywhere there without connections or education or money. Especially as that country was relatively poor after the break down of the Soviet Union. After that break down Slovenia was actually worse off than before as Slovenians lost many rights. All countries and allies of the Soviet Union supported each other with natural resources and exchange of science and scholarship programs. Prices were frozen. After the break down a lot of that stopped.
So going back wasn’t really an option for her, I guess.
Marrying Trump really was one of her few chances to live a good life. What else is there for a not-so-good fashion model with no education?
@Bitchy, Slovenia wasn’t part of the Soviet Union, it was part of Yugoslavia. Slovenia wasn’t, and isn’t, some sort of poor backward country. She had options if she wanted to go back home. She didn’t want to, which is fine, but she had options.
cR IS RIGHT: Slovenia was one of the most liberal communist countries there is. And richest. The transition form communism to capitalism was almost seamless. just ten years later thez were already in the EU. their education is excellent. Melania comes from a middle/upper middle class and she was not a poor little girl with no prospects, she was a gold digger always looking for a secure spot. Considering she startedf modeling around 1995/6, long after SSSr was through, long after Slovenia transitioned to democracy, I’m not exactly sure to what she couldn’t get back to? her parents and considerable house at home?
@ Bitchy. She had no education. So get one. Or a marketable skill. Just like every g grown ass adult who wants to lead a respectable life rather than marry one of the biggest assholes on the planet and co-sign his hate. Just a thought.
I don’t think she had deep issues, I think she wanted to marry rich and Drumpf was the only option she had at that time. She had a plan – a modelling career whatever that was worth , in Italy, and then to the US where she tried to make it as a model but she couldn’t. Marrying him was her choice and she was probably OK with whatever it involved until he ran for president and won. Criticizing her decision to have a child is wrong. She seems to be a very loving mother and very involved in her son’s life.
I think that there are women who make a conscious choice to marry for money. i don’t think it means that there is something psychologically or emotionally unsound about them. It is the equivalent of old, rich guys marrying young, attractive women. It’s a pretty straightforward exchange., though, maybe a better deal for the old rich guy. I From the article, it’s clear that this was her goal. I don’t judge this one way or another and do not view Melania as a victim, unless she is being abused by him.
Women bring children into all sorts of messes even when money isn’t a lure. Many women really want to have children and be a mother, regardless of the fool they married. In her case, she knew the child would be provided for financially – so why not?
All of this sound about right. It was smart on her part to teach Baron slovenian. I would imagine that can come quite handy in a household with no respect or love between partners
Her parents actually live in Trump Tower, so he can speak Slovenian with them also.
What fascinates me, and has all along because it’s been so obvious, is the fact that they “have no people.” It is pretty amazing to think he managed to get elected despite not having the meaningful relationships and friendships that many in public service do. Trump was just the perfect empty vessel for advancing numerous agendas. So depressing.
Pretty just the one agenda: Putin’s. Which is also that of all the other bottom feeders including the Mercers – more money for the already obscenely wealthy.
Putin isn’t behind Trump. That is fake news. There is no evidence for any kind of Russian involvement into the elections. All the “evidence” is unbacked claims and no better than hear-say and gossip. There was this examination report on Putin’s alleged involvement in the election. That report tried to prove Russian involvement from the perspective of computer sciences. All independent experts ripped that report to pieces for not offering any evidence.
See Trumps latest action. His military strike in Syria against Assad who is accused of using sarin gas against his own people. It was a horrible attack. But: There is no evidence that is was Assad’s gas nor is there evidence that Assad ordered the gas attack. The extractable residues of the Sarin gas attack are currently examined scientifically.
Remember Obama’s red line? Obama said if Assad used gas he would attack Assad / launch a strike in Syria. Then there was a gas attack. The gas turned out to be not from Assad. Examination of extractable residues, too. Clever Obama didn’t order a military strike in Syria.
In the Middle East you have to be careful before you accuse anybody of anything. There are usually so many governments and groups and terror groups and political parties involved it is very difficult to verify anything that quickly.
Trump is behind Trump. And some big money bags don’t mind Trump as long as he keeps their taxes low and keeps overthrowing countries with lots of natural resources.
@Bitchy: “Putin isn’t behind Trump. That is fake news. There is no evidence for any kind of Russian involvement into the elections.”
No evidence for any kind? Au contraire, there is, Is there a smoking gun of Putin and Trump collaborating on undermining the election? Highly unlikely. But there’s plenty of evidence of Putin’s interfering with not just the US elections but elections in Western Europe. And with multiple investigations by multiple agencies in multiple countries, I’m sure we’ll be finding more evidence.
I fail to understand how calling something fake news makes it so. Just another distraction from the facts, IMO.
Trump is so owned and too stupid and weak to have made it on his own. Several bankruptcies say so. His love for Putin knows no bounds. Trumpsters and PutinBots go la la la, I can’t hear you, hit the talking point, and go back to their fantasy of the strongman. Trump the Fat a strongman? Bwahahaha! Also he’s practically incoherent these days- dementia will do that to ya.
#TrumpRussia, a marriage made in hell, no matter what kind of disinformation recently ramped up bots throw against the wall.
@Bitchy: Trump informed Putin of the missile attack BEFORE his own government.
The airbase was so empty having been swiftly evacuated that Trump ended up spending tens of millions of dollars to kill three times as many friendly soldiers with an errant missile as he did enemy soldiers with the ones that hit their target.
Bitchy, so the CIA and FBI stating that Russia interfered in our election to help Trump get elected, Trump’s National Security Advisor asking for immunity and 2 congressional committees with Republicans on them investigating the charges doesn’t convince you? But let me guess, you believed Obama was born in Kenya!
Bitchy- there is plenty of convincing evidence that the Russians indeed attempted to influence our election by illegal and unethical means. We will never know if they succeeded in actually affecting the vote counts because most machines stupidly had no paper backup and no forensic examination was done, and manual recounts were blocked. Our current voting system is quite vulnerable to hacking, which is why we must to go to paper backups and routine hand recounts of the paper backups if we want to discourage fraud at all levels (local, state, national, and now international). Paper backup and hand recounts are the easiest and surest way to avoid such fraud, which is why other countries are doing the same.
The Russians are doing the same kind of meddling in Europe. They may have started initially with Trump to cultivate him as a useful propaganda tool, since he was easy to manipulate and had great access to media. So he could be useful in manipulating public opinion. At some point, they realized he had a chance of winning, which would be even better in the effort to get sanctions lifted.
Congressional people coming out of a private meeting with the FBI director on the subject looked shell-shocked. We only know a tiny bit of the evidence our government has so far, most of it hasn’t been declassified. Trump is trying vigorously to deflect attention from the investigation and his people have consistently lied about their contacts, which tells us that he and they have something big to hide.
None of this is hard to believe either. Manipulating other governments and public opinion has been a game played for ages by both Russia (and the USSR) and the United States. This might possibly be the first time the Russians have focused so much on the US itself on such a large scale, but the economic stakes for Putin are high. He really needs to get rid of those sanctions. He also has good reason to weaken the European Union and NATO in pursuit of his own goals. Modern technology provides opportunities for meddling not available before (I would advise countries trying to build nukes to protect themselves against us to instead focus on cultivating computer experts). Trump and his people provide an unusual opportunity, but he also has all the usual features of a traditional stooge. In particular, he is arrogant and self-important but also has no firm ethical framework. In addition, many suspect quite reasonably that he is in deep debt to Russian friends of Putin. US banks stopped financing Trump because of his many financial misadventures, so he has had to seek funding elsewhere for quite some time. I suspect money laundering is one of the things also involved – Trump has already been caught and legally penalized for that with his casinos, plus there are some odd more recent transactions with Russians that suggest it.
Obama did not retaliate militarily in response to the 2013 chemical attack in Syria only because he followed the Constitution and went to Congress for approval. Congress refused to approve it, so Obama pursued a chemical ban via diplomacy instead. He was quite sure Assad did the attack. The last report I saw from the organization investigating the latest attack was that they had determined it was Assad and not one of the other suspects. They had taken soil samples very early, but there is more to the determination than that. There are other players in Syria with access to chemical weapons, but Assad seems to be the only one with the capability to reliably deliver them by air.
This is everything you could have easily intuited simply from watching their interaction and knowing a little of their history. I feel bad for the kid, but she cut her devil’s deal with that one.
Yeah nothing about this is a bit surprising to me. It sounds like an awful life, but I don’t feel sorry for her. She sold her soul long time ago.
I do feel for their child though.
Seems as though she doesn’t give a shit about too many things. Reap what you sow lady. She was all about being the pretty arm candy to a vile individual. At least she cares about her son, that’s all I can give her. This administration is so embarrassing, a sociopathic president, his trophy wife who doesn’t want to be in the WH, a daughter with so much power over her father, he tossed a bomb for her. God help us.
I believe every word that this article says. It seems spot on and it reaffirms my feeling about this woman . She made a deal with the devil.
Well, egg and my face are in alignment this morning.
This article changed my POV.
Also, I think that the Melania and Barron narrative about moving to the WH only means for the summer months. Come September, they will be back in NYC for the school year.
She should have listened to her friends teasing her about Trump. They weren’t lying. As a girl from a foreign country she might have been a little unaware about Trumps reputation .
Don’t sell Melania short. She’s a Slovenian, a central European country that wasn’t behind Iron curtain. It was one of the most liberal communist countries. She was ALWAYs a part of the gold-digging clique of croatian and slovenian models. I know that at least one of her former roomates married/cohabitated with a famous footbal player. Enough said. Melania’s end goal was always a rich husband, and all his other characteristics were of lesser importance.
Not true. Slovenia only became a country once Czechoslovakia broke up in 1993. So yes, it was part of the Soviet bloc.
And “liberal communist”?
The sympathetic angle pushed by some media how it was basically about survival for her makes me sick. She didn’t come from a third world country, the perception that she did is very US-centric, which is to say, clueless about ‘the rest of the world’ and simultaneously aggressive in pushing their uneducated opinion to shape the narrative. (No offense to many lovely and informed US commenters.)
It was always about being a kept woman for her. She lives in a golden penthouse, spends millions on ridiculous luxury – this is not survival, it’s pure greed. Who cares what she privately thinks of Trump and whether she’s happy or unhappy with being First Lady! She’s dutifully upheld her part of the contract, including her role in his campaign, and condoned and willingly contributed to bringing misery to the nation. So she’d rather be a lady who lunches with no public scrutiny; cry me a river Melania. We’re all disgusted by Trump’s comments and opinions on her body and her worth, but *she* sees no major problem with this – after all, she went into this contracted marriage with eyes wide open.
@M.A.F.: Slovenia, not Slovakia. And yes, in comparison to other communist countries Slovenia (and most of the rest of Yugoslavia) was ‘liberal’ communist.
@ M.A.F.
Communism is generally considered to be liberalism taken to the extreme, which is why it falls on the ultra left of the political spectrum.
@ Desi
For real??
M.A.F. You should really use google. Slovenia and Slovakia are NOT the same country. Look up Tito, while you’re at it, who was Yugoslavian dictator and who started and organized so called Non-Aligned movement of countries which were communist, but declined to follow and be under SSSR, and remained in pretty good relations with the West. That’s how we had Coca Cola, that’s how we could travel abroad, learn English, listen to Beatles, host Rolling Stones, that’s how our companies worked with american and german companies and scientists and so on….
signed, a Croatian with a Slovenian grandmother
M.A.F. – you must be thinking of Slovakia. Slovenia was part of the old Yugoslavia, which although communist really did go its own way apart from Moscow. I knew a girl when we were ten years old whose family was going back to Yugoslavia in late 1959/early 1960 after having immigrated to the US a couple of years before. They felt things had loosened up that much from when they left. So they had a choice between living in the US and living in Yugoslavia, and they chose Yugoslavia. She told me there were five major language/cultural regions joined together in Yugoslavia, and those much later became independent countries. Later in the 1960s and 1970s, my graduate department had an active exchange program with an Institute in Ljubljana, now in the country of Slovenia.
She was 28 when she met Trump – so she wasn’t a girl anymore. I also think she was pretty aware who Trump was/is. She tried to make a living as a model in NYC, so I bet she heard a lot of things about her future husband.
Melania absolutely knew what she was doing and what she was getting into. She wanted a man with a lot of money, so she would never ever have to work again. Mission completed. That’s all she ever wanted.
Let’s be truthfully she was 28 that’s not really young for modeling or trying to catch rich husbands hell if tom crusie asked her to marry him she would because she doesn’t need much except a fat bank accountant .
@winter: she might have prefered someone else, but I have no sympathy for her. She was to old to work as a model when she came to the US, she also wasn’t very good at it and I might be a b!tch to say it but I bet she can’t hold a conversion for long. So Trump was her best catch. Unless of course she would have gone that ‘work for a living’ route. But who would want that?
@greenmonster i wonder who really told her she was model material because 28 was /is too old to try to begin working seriously as a model she would have done better to finish school with another major
She dated him for seven years before she married him. She knew exactly who and what he is — a womanizing grifter, but that’s what she wanted because it gave her security and a nice life. No sympathy for her at all — just watch her interview with Joy Behar spouting the same birther nonsense as Trump. She’s no innocent caught up in this; she’s in it for herself and now her son.
Narcissists often hide much of who they are before marriage. She may not have known how bad he really was. Many women who have married such narcissists talk about being “love-bombed” before marriage and then boom – within a few weeks or months, he’s a whole different person.
Never forget that Donald Trump is a seriously disturbed and dangerous individual. He can turn on the charm when it suits him, which can confuse people and lull them into thinking he’s normal. He is not now and never has been normal.
Considering the amount of dirt she must have on orange Mussolini, she could negotiate a sweet deal that could grant her freedom (no more first lady duties,) and tons of money if she wanted to divorce him.
A public divorce while in office would be the last thing Evil Traffic Cone would want.
She should give Katie Holmes a call.
Absolutely nothing surprising in the whole article. The only thing that stuck with me is defining her as ‘sweet’=she only speaks when spoken to. Yikes.
I have scorn and sympathy for her in equal measure.
i don’t have any sympathy she did not put herself in a real relationship trust me she would have married any man with fat pockets to have a doing nothing life !! Witch to me is seems just lazy
Yes @winter! So much YES. Melania is lazy as hell. No sympathy for her. I don’t think she has any self esteem issues or whatever. She is lazy. That’s all.
@Betsy – You have sympathy for someone who furthered birtherism and excused the Access Hollywood tape as “boy talk?” Yeah, NO.
This explains a bit more. He didn’t want his youngest son and by extension doesn’t particularly care for him? Got it. He was more worried that his prize show pony…err…wife might be a little worn by bringing his child into the world. Gross as always. Oh and if he was allowed to do what he wanted…was she?….I’ll just leave it there and let your mind wander to all the possibilities these things add up too.
I feel as if I know what you’re suggesting here, but I don’t want to name it because that poor child has been unnecessarily speculated about enough. All I can say is you might be right. And more importantly, I hope that child is going to be okay.
I’ve read several articles and supposed exposees about her through the years and the takeaway is pretty benign ……she is focused on what’s important to her, she’s quite intelligent, and she’s kind to others. No one really has something legitimately bad to say about her. You may disagree with her choice of spouse…..or decision to stay in NYC through the school year for her son…….but she just isn’t a bitch, she isn’t a mean girl type, etc. although she sure stirs that up in others. She’s not an elected official, so I give her a pass. I’m in the group who thinks that the USA has unfair, unrealistic and inappropriate expectations of FLOTUS that are obscenely old fashioned, founded in patriarchy, and just plain out of touch with our expectations of spouses otherwise.
Agreed! Just because her survivalist, somewhat materialistic values aren’t in line with what Americans consider honorable – that doesn’t make her a bad person.
By all accounts she is a nice, kind, intelligent person who loves her son and if she made a deal with the devil, that doesn’t make her a nasty person, just a marginalized one.
Yep, exactly so! And for all the yelling about it’s high morals and good values America should look in the mirror first. And its current elected leader.
“By all accounts she is a nice, kind, intelligent person”
nice, kind, intelligent people don’t push a racist “birther” narrative on an honorable man who PROVED, ad nauseum, that he was born in this country and was elected legally. while trying to make a buck by shilling her crappy jewelry.
so, SHE put herself in the public and political arena by A) branding herself and selling her name and B) entering into the “birther” narrative.
fair game.
Whenever I read a story about Melania, I think about this comment I read on Tom and Lorenzo (pasted below). The person very well could be lying, but I don’t think he/she is.
For what it is worth: I am friends with a charming woman who is about 25 yrs older than Melania, and this friend, who is an amateur fashionista herself but on a MUCH lower income, worked for Mr. Trump as a consultant off and on about 5 yrs ago. Melania and she hit it off around Trump Towers and Melania always wanted my friend to go clothes shopping with her, but my friend would protest poverty. On my friend’s last morning there, Melania walked her down to the lobby as a polite gesture but instead of saying goodbye, there was a limo waiting for them with the usual small crowd assembled around it A chauffeur took Melania and my friend to all kinds of expensive shops that had been closed just for their visit. At each shop Melania would pick out clothes she thought the older woman would like. She insisted on being allowed to buy my friend whatever she wanted but a pair of shoes from some big shoe designer was all my friend would take. At the time I had never heard of Melania but last night I was thinking about that story.
If that’s true, that’s honestly a nice gesture. I don’t like the woman. But I have some sympathy for her. I kind of wonder about her self-esteem as a whole… I don’t think someone who was confident in themselves and overall secure with their life could involve themselves with DT. I do have a hell of a lot of disdain for the woman, and the way that she just goes along with everything…but I can manage sympathy in some aspects as well. I honestly can’t imagine she has a very happy existence, and while she made her bed by choosing this man, I don’t think I have an enemy I’d ever wish that life on.
I don’t judge her decision to live in NYC. I think about this issue as in who is paying the bill. It should be Drumpf. And the idealist in me thinks that with privilege there are many ways to support worthy causes.
I’m not sure where you are going with the worthy causes comment. That said — I’ve seen where she has been supportive of wounded veteran charities, children’s health related charities, and I have a friend who lives in Boca Raton who recently commented about her involvement in a youth Girls Club in the area, So from all that, I’ll assume her support of worthy causes is acceptable.
I was not aware of her involvement in the activities you mentioned, thanks for sharing. Those are definitely worthy, and every little effort matters.
What I had on mind was sensitive issues re women, children, and the elderly, but realistically speaking those go against “certain” agendas.
Good luck to her, I hope she can expand her platform.
once she went on that joy behar show saying obama’s birth certificate didnt look real to her, she was fair game. deciding she would rather gouge the tax payers than be in the same building as her husband just drives home that she is not a good person.
superficial note, her face looks like it hurts. why do rich people get bad plastic surgery?
I have some sympathy for her. Not for having to put up with Trump and his nastiness and philandering-that she signed up for eyes wide open. But I don’t think she or anyone would have expected 10 yrs ago (when they married) that Trump might one day be president, and she would be put in role of political spouse. She clearly hates it (as would I) and I feel bad for her about that, because I really don’t think she had any reason to anticipate that. I still think the VF piece is fair game and all.
If she didn’t want to be a political spouse, then she should have divorced his ass. Or, yknow, not actively participated in pushing birtherism, or going on TV to excuse his “boy talk.”
Apparently, lotta y’all think Poor Melania has no agency. Bullsht. She does. As does Ivanka. They CHOOSE to stand behind this vile piece of garbage AND actively support him and all he does that HURTS people and fcks up this country.
Also, dt has a place in Jersey. All these assholes would have to do to save NYC loads of money and trouble and risk is for her to stay in Jersey. Or move to a damn brownstone in a less central area of Manhattan. Drive the kid just a tiny bit further for school, like a gazillion other parents. They don’t. SHE doesn’t. Because God forbid any of these grifters lift a damn finger or think of anyone else, ever.
I’m surprised Melania agreed to that article—did she? It’s not very flattering. Clearly she’s no intellectual and personally, I don’t give a hoot if she’s anti-embracing First Lady-dom, but I DO care that We the People are supporting her alternative residence choice with taxpayer money. Trump is loaded. He should pay the extra dough to support M and B if they are not living with him. He should also pay for his outrageous Mar-a-Lago habit. I can accept that the taxpayers support the president and his/her family (i.e. spouse and non-adult children) when they are living in the White House, but that’s enough. Just grotesque what is going on with this vile administration.
I think she’s as surprised as the rest of America that he’s president and she doesn’t want to uproot her life because, like the rest of America, she doesn’t think it will last very long.
I’m not a Melania defender, but this isn’t the deal that she made. How can she get out of it now? If she left Trump the president his press and lawyers would destroy her. She’d be in the poor house and probably without her only child.
American taxpayers should not have to subsidize two separate households, and everything that requires, so the first lady can live where she wants.
Oh, sorry. THREE separate households. I forgot about Florida.
And what exactly are American taxpayers going to do when inevitably someone gets elected President who is legally divorced and not the sole custodial parent? The Feds think they have to protect the minor offspring regardless. Can’t force divorced parents (and likely their new spouses and stepchildren) to move into the White House together.
It’s rather obvious that Melania and Donald are separated and pretend to be married only for a political show. I doubt that Melania can force the issue without risking her son. Even joint custody with the narcissist-in-chief would be a nightmare for the kid and his mother. Donald is calling the shots in all of this.
I’m sorry – – this isn’t the deal she made? Did y’all miss the part where she joined the campaign? Defended this vile person?
If this isn’t “the deal” she wanted, then she can give up all the perks and money pouring into their bank accounts. She doesn’t.
COMPLICIT is not just for Javanka.
“She speaks only when spoken to.”
Um… wow.
@Desi: In Melania’s case I believe that Melania speaking “only when spoken to” is sheer genius on her part. It’s a great strategy. Her husband is the least popular president in modern history and she’s “unpopular by association.” Whatever else Melania may be or not be, she’s no dummy. She knows that she’s going to be lambasted on everything from her Slovenia accent (Chelsea Handler) to her every utterance, which will be scrutinized, criticized and derided. She knows everyone is waiting for her to open her mouth and make a gaffe. IMO, her best course of action is to keep her mouth shut. At least she’s not bombarding everyone with Twitter rants at 3:00 a.m.
I dunno … nothing smart about not vetting her plagiarism choices a little better.
Honestly, I’m not even sure what she’d have to say to be considered gaffe-worthy. She’s already married to the human embodiment of verbal diarrhea. I mean, can she really take us any lower?
Never mind. Pretty sure I don’t want an answer to that question. 😉
I don’t care about her accent, but she’s been in the US for 15y now? She should be fluent in English. It requires interest and effort but it’s doable. She has the money. She could also hire a language coach and work on her accent if she wanted to.
When she sold jewelry on a cable shopping network a few years ago, I don’t recall her accent being so heavy.
Speaking as someone who makes a living translating several languages into English – it is not at all unusual for an adult to maintain a thick foreign accent even when perfectly fluent in spoken English. It is also not unusual for foreign-born adults to have limited active fluency in spoken and written English even after being here for decades. They very often have no trouble reading English or understanding spoken English (which are passive functions). Different areas of the brain are involved for those four functions.
Young children pick up the new language quickly, but their vocabulary is small in any language and their thoughts are not sophisticated. We maintain considerable flexibility in language learning to some degree through our teens, but we tend to speak with a foreign accent more or less unless we are immersed in the new language before about the age of ten. The younger the person on arrival, the fainter the foreign accent. One Ukrainian-born person I knew had arrived around the age of ten, and his only accent was really too crisp a way of pronouncing vowels (since Ukrainian, unlike Russian and English, doesn’t use those drawn out diphthongs) and less lingering on consonants. You hear the same in American accents heavily influenced by Spanish. He had native fluency in American English, but limited fluency in his native Ukrainian because he was still a child when removed from Ukraine. He could talk about simple family stuff in Ukrainian, but otherwise needed to use English.
Occasionally there are gifted individuals who continue to easily pick up new languages throughout adulthood and even may lose most or all of their accent, but they are relatively rare. Our ability to reliably form certain sounds seems pretty much set in stone for most of us after a certain age. Babies can theoretically make all the sounds, but zero in eventually on the ones they hear around them and that get a strong positive reaction from other people when they make those sounds.
So Melania isn’t lazy, she’s pretty much normal as far as language skills are concerned. She probably does better with languages she learned at a much younger age, especially before her teens.
When is he supposed to get his bod back?
Zero sympathy. Miss me with all…she didn’t expect to be FL BS. She participated in the election and did everything to present a particular view of her dysfunctional, lying, grifter husband and family to the American public. There was a 50% chance that he would win. He did. Therefore, she & Barron need to move to Washington and be done with it.
Meanwhile, President Obama is speaking publicly for the first time at the University of Chicago as we speak.
He sits down and says, “So, what’s been going on since I’ve been gone?”
And then he goes on to be inspirational, articulate, intelligent, compassionate and wonderful. He’s listening to a group of young leaders speak right now. Really listening. I’m crying. I tried not to but I am.
Please stay. Keep talking. Maybe the other dude will forget you’re not still in charge. To go from this man… to THAT man… my heart breaks.
I imagine that there is some comfort in knowing that the way, way more popular than Trump Obama with his monumental inauguration crowds return to the spotlight is going to make the Illegitimate Pres crazy.
Olden, golden days when we had a President who spoke in clear, coherent sentences, a President who cared about the people and the nation he led more than himself, a President we could be proud of. Seems like a century ago.
Melania will do anything for a buck, just like the rest of the depraved Trump mobsters. Why is sympathy for this soulless freak even a question?
I do believe that she went into this with her eyes wide open, but I’m sure she never imagined that Trump would run for president and actually win. This is way more than she signed up for and this level of exposure and scrutiny was not part of the original deal. It’s so obvious she doesn’t want this.
I am torn—on the one hand, she probably didn’t sign up to be FL and thus feels trapped in a role and position presently she didn’t think she was marrying into. That I feel sorry for. But, because she ultimately comes off as a golddigger who married a wealth man rather than make something of herself—she sets feminists back by doing so and is a horrible role model for women. He is a horrible man and anyone who looks past that to marry him anyways, I have to side eye. I can’t handle even acquaintances who appear money hungry and looking for a rich husband. I can’t respect them at all.
Andrea@Except has feminists we should never say one woman actions set us all back because that’s just so untrue not everyone has the same wants and needs melania wants and needs $ security before anything else that on her it’s her life no one’s else effective but her .
If one is secure within oneself, one doesn’t need loads of money and security.
+1, Winter. If Melania set feminism back- which isn’t something I think one woman can really do just by marrying, dating, or banging someone- it’s because of WHO she married and her willingness to overlook and defend all his atrocious behavior, not the fact that she got with someone for money. That’s what makes her a bad role model for people in general. It actually says worse about her if she’s with somebody like that because she agrees with his politics and likes his character, Lol.
If her life is all about her son and nothing else, what is she going to do when he grows up and doesn’t live with her anymore?
Either way, I don’t feel sorry for her. She knew what she was getting into by marrying this monster.
I read about her here and there, mostly here. She is a mother and an “entrepreneur”. Albeit she wants to profit from her role as FL.Who knows, maybe she is trying to make the “best” out of the situation and prepare to make enough money and connections for the divorce and post-divorce period. Not that it’s ethical. Or even legal under the circumstances.
She has aided and abetted Tr*mp’s criminal enterprise since they first got together in the late 1990s. She’s nothing more than an accomplice. It’s all a con.
While I think it’s nice that people are concerned about her, I’m not. She secured her financial future for her and her son long ago. If the kitchen gets too hot, she’ll get a divorce. She will not suffer. There are many ordinary people who do not have the money to buy the way out of the tough situations this administration will put them in, and it’s them I’m worried about.
I agree. I think she’s super tough and has eyes wide open. She looks sad probably only because she never wanted the FL responsibilities.
Yeah F this b*tch and the Cheeto she rode in on.
I don’t really care about Melania at all, but I have to admit, her style is on point. She always looks great.
Stop costing taxpayers so much money, Melania. I think, ugh, whenever I see this pampered woman. She excused and supported her bullying, lying, p*ssygrabbing conman of a husband. I don’t care if you wear a sackcloth and have warts on your nose if you are a person of intelligence, honor and truth in the WH. She obviously doesn’t even want the job!
I’m only mildly surprised that she comes off as even more boring and shallow than I originally thought. But I guess that is to be expected since she must have to numb herself to her reality in some way?
So what the article boils down to, what we expected and reinforces, he is a misogynistic malignant narcissistic jerk and she could not care less about being First Lady and that is why Ivanka is the replacement part. I still think they would be divorcing if he hadn’t won the election. This tell all article would not change the minds of his voters, as we learnt this weekend ,96% of Trumps supporters would still vote for him today.
“First Lady isn’t a job” … But it actually is, particularly in the modern era. There are responsibilities. A staff. And perks galore. Yes, it definitely has sexist overtones, to say the least, focusing on “girl stuff” like social events, etc. But it’s also a powerful position with incredible influence on world events and domestic policies. Oh and, yeah, there are a lot of services not being rendered to the public because they fall under the purview of the First Lady and Melania is unwilling to do the work.
Yet she is more than willing to accept the perks: the glam room, the staff, the decorating budget, the fashion, the security, the magazine covers, etc. but doesn’t want to do the job she signed up for. And, yes, SHE DID SIGN UP FOR IT. In a relationship/partnership that’s how it works. She’s a grown adult. She’s not a hostage. She’s Donald Trump’s legal partner of her own free will, so when they, as a couple, decided to run for office, this was the deal. A legal partner makes a promise, and you, their equal, are also held responsible for it. “I don’t feel want to” isn’t an option. That’s how it’s done in any business. Nothing anti-feminist about it.
If my husband doesn’t pay our taxes, guess who is also on the hook for that? Yeah, me. Even if I don’t feel like it.
Everything in the article rings very true to me. I don’t think Melania is a victim. I also don’t think she’s exceedingly bright. Not saying she’s dumb … Probably not as dumb as her husband, actually. Just a little dull, and more savvy than legitimately smart.
Personally, my biggest gripe with Melania, and the entire Trump clan, is the amount of money they’re costing taxpayers. You want an extravagant lifestyle? Pay for it your own damn self! I mean isn’t that what Republicans are always saying about everyone else? The Trumps need to get off the public teet. Biggest welfare queens the world has ever seen.
She was certain and confident in that interview she did to defend him. She said without hesitation she was attracted to his brain (?!). Probably in the sense he’s good at drumming up media for marketing Trump brands. I don’t think she’s dull but she has a very narrow focus and just wants to live the rich Manhattan lifestyle with her beauty and workout routine and raise her kid and not be bothered. She’ll be the most absent FL in all of history maybe.
Listen, i get that she probably doesnt really love Donald, but if you want the perks (of not just being married to him) but the perks of being First Lady, then start giving a crap.
He doesn’t respect women and doesn’t like children, that’s been made clear. As far as Melania – I withhold judgment. Maybe she went into this with an eye for financial stability; but everything changes when you have a child. This I know from experience. Normal moms will do anything to protect that child, and she obviously wanted one. Emotionally abusive people (which he seems like to me) can be incredibly charming at first. I have a feeling that if it wasn’t for her son, she would have bailed a long time ago. Now she does, and she has to tow the line. If she did come here/stay here/work here illegally, she’s between a rock and a hard place. With him gone all the time, I imagine they have a very close bond, as I do with my two sons, and the possibility of losing your child is the scariest thing to encounter. I have no doubt he somehow holds that over her head, and she’s struggling for survival. I don’t hate on her at all, or I try not to. I have been there. It’s terrifying af. And I’m pretty damn smart, but you can still fall into the trap.
I don’t know what to make of her as First Lady. She isn’t doing much so far and whatever she has done hasn’t been all that impressive. I remember reading about Jackie Kennedy who apparently was perceived as rich wife who didn’t want to be involved in the White House business and instead spend her husbands money on sable underwear. She would stay away with the children and send her mother or her mother-in-law in her stead to meet and greet officials, except for the very big ones that would be on the front pages. Then she decided to re- decorate the place and was criticized for that.
I have no idea what kind of First Lady this chick will be. So far she’s been acting the same way as her husband – “to hell with them all!” I’m kinda curious if she, like Jackie will actually end up being a beloved and popular one! I mean listen to all who praise her looks and style as if we are in the 1950’s and that the most important thing for a woman to master!
Her style? She is tall and thin, so she always looks good, but she’s is very stiff, oddly formal, very old fashioned like all the old eastern block models. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to get dressed up like that with the jacket and shoes and the whole deal. Rich Americans wear 400 dollar yoga pants. Only the ex commies think dressing like the head secretary is the look.
Jackie Kennedy gave birth to a baby just weeks after her husband was elected so she was dealing with a newborn and a toddler when she entered the White House. But that newborn and that toddler DID move to the White House. During her final year in the White House, she was pregnant, gave birth prematurely by emergency c-section, and the child died several days later. Her restoration of the White House began almost as soon as they entered it, not later. Her focus was on the National Endowment for the Arts, and she founded the White House Historical Association, the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, and and various trusts to maintain the White House. She hosted concerts and cultural events at the White House. She would probably have been shocked at Melania’s bungling of the Easter Egg Roll and horrified that foreign dignitaries are being dragged to Mar-a-Lago.
I don’t feel sorry for her. She knew what she was getting into, and that interview she did (during? after?) his campaign suggests she’s a tough woman who’s satisfied with her lot.
Yes, Cara, now that there’s a white woman as First Lady, let’s not judge. Let’s turn the judging back on for the next black First Lady. Melania is a drain on the US economy and so is her husband. Maybe if they both lived in DC, they could afford his precious wall.
$208 million (at $1 million a week) for security if she stays in NY for most of his term.
Meh, any speculation about Melania bores me. She is completely a house wife, a hot version of Pat Nixon, and she has nothing to do with anything related to the country, she’s just living basically a very private life, but publicly.
Then she can stop spending so much of the country’s damn money.
Pat Nixon didn’t cost taxpayers millions of dollars a day; even when adjusted for inflation.
Actively furthered birtherism.
Campaigned for dt.
Excused and defended “boy talk.”
Spends a sht ton of taxpayer money b/c she can’t be bothered to so much as move a few blocks off 5th ave.
Said she was going to take on a flotus platform, has done sht.
Sued b/c she wanted to profit off of flotus role.
But yeah, let’s keep saying she didn’t ask for this, marrying for money is totes cool, she has no agency, she didn’t have choices, poor Melania, blah blah, GMAFB.
She. Is. Complicit. Too.