Why Melania Trump's Partnership With The National Archives Has Trump Supporters Confused

Former first lady Melania Trump has been marching to the beat of her own drum ever since leaving the White House in 2021, staying out of the public eye and away from the campaign trail as her husband vies for his spot as the Republican presidential candidate in 2024. The distance she's seemingly placed between herself and Trump grew after it was announced that Melania would headline a National Archives ceremony in December 2023.

The National Archives event was held in honor of Bill of Rights Day and featured 25 immigrants from 25 different countries becoming naturalized American citizens. "As a naturalized citizen herself, Mrs. Trump looks forward to telling her story and being part of this momentous occasion for these new American citizens," read a statement from Melania's office, per CNN.

With no other context, Slovenian-born Melania serving as the event's headline speaker makes sense. But given her husband's tumultuous history with the National Archives, the governmental group that spearheaded Trump's classified document lawsuit, Melania's attendance and speech at the event seem far more awkward.

Former President Donald Trump's tense relationship with the National Archives and Records Administration began after the NARA requested Trump return classified documents to the U.S. government following his 2020 election loss. After Trump's team repeatedly resisted the NARA's attempts to obtain the documents, the U.S. Justice Department stepped in and indicted Trump on 37 criminal charges, the majority of which were violations of the Espionage Act, per NPR.

Trump's outspoken online and in-person commentary on the NARA even caused the governmental agency to break the status quo and release a rare public statement refuting Trump's claims that he was permitted to retain certain classified documents after his tenure as president was over (via the National Archives). Simply put, NARA and Donald Trump have not been on the best of terms since 2021, causing many to wonder why Melania Trump would agree to headline an event held by the NARA months before Trump's trial is set to start. 

To some, this decision seems to be yet another step in the opposite direction of her husband, breaking the illusion of a united front amid Donald's legal woes. But to others, the real motive behind Melania's return to the limelight is far more calculated by the Trump team.

Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman told the Daily Mail in November 2020 that "Melania is counting every minute until [Donald Trump] is out of office and she can divorce. If Melania were to try to pull the ultimate humiliation and leave while he's in office, he would find a way to punish her." Despite this, Melania's statements about her marriage have been largely positive, but some of her actions have raised a few eyebrows. 

For example, Melania reportedly renegotiated the terms of her prenuptial agreement to prioritize her son Barron's trust fund after Donald was elected in 2016. Melania's ex-aide/friend, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, claimed these changes occurred over the five months it took Melania and Barron to move from New York City to the White House. Wolkoff called the Trumps' marriage "transactional," per the Daily Mail, and her opinion on Melania's appearance at the NARA event is no less biting.

"The hypocrisy of Melania Trump hosting a naturalization event at the National Archives (where Donald is under investigation) is right up there with her so-called Be Best anti-bullying platform (where Donald is Bully #1)," Wolkoff wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Melania is a vessel of complicity and distraction trying to create a stark contrast from their reality. The Trump's 'actions' contradict their so called 'beliefs and values.' I know Melania Trump, and she doesn't care about US."