Author Claims Melania Trump's White House Behavior Was Even More Distant Than We Thought

Despite dropping hints that they're more united than critics think, Donald and Melania Trump's relationship has certainly been sparking some controversy as of late. The root of this controversy? Melania has been very absent from the public eye and her husband's side as he runs his re-election campaign for President of the United States. Melania has always been a bit of a mysterious figure. As it turns out, though, the distance she keeps from Donald and his political career didn't start with his most recent run. A new book details Melania's lack of involvement when she was the first lady, and it may give us some clues about what's going on today.

"American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, From Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden" is a new book written by New York Times White House correspondent, Katie Rogers. Among the other first ladies mentioned in the book's subtitle, Melania is also featured. The book's details about her bring to light just how uninvolved she allegedly was with the goings-on in the White House during her time there. While it's no secret that she hasn't been the most hands-on first lady the United States has seen, first-hand accounts of Melania's behavior around the White House may still come as a surprise. According to Rogers' book, Melania was a difficult first lady to work with  because of her inattentiveness to the role — much to the dismay of her aides. 

As the first lady, Melania Trump had certain duties and responsibilities while Donald Trump was the president. Melania even had her own office in the East Wing of the White House. According to Katie Rogers' book, "American Woman," though, she barely ever set foot in her office. In fact, over the course of Donald's presidency, Melania only entered her own office twice that folks working in the White House could recall. Since she never used her office — with the exception of one meeting and one day when she stopped in to greet the folks working there — White House aides found another purpose for it. They dubbed it the "swag room" (via the Daily Mail) and dedicated it to storing gifts, while using her large desk as a space to wrap them.

Beyond her absence from her office, it seems that Melania's team often struggled to get her attention. According to Rogers, Melania's aides would seek her out "when she had her hair and makeup done" in hopes that she'd agree to do something they had on the docket for her. She added, "It always felt like a win when she said yes."

Details of Melania Trump's behavior in the White House give the public insight into her relationship with her role as first lady. Beyond that, though, they may explain her lack of engagement with Donald Trump's current campaign. While some believe that Melania's distance from Donald on the campaign trail could be for Barron's privacy, it's worth noting that she wasn't particularly involved in his 2020 re-election campaign, either. In "American Woman," Katie Rogers notes that Melania's aides believed that she was relieved to leave the White House and get back to how things were before Donald's presidency. 

Despite not engaging much with her husband's role as president, Rogers notes two things, in particular, that Melania was fixated on during her time as the first lady. Melania cared a lot about the public's perception of her and what was being said about her on the internet, as well as her ongoing feud with step-daughter, Ivanka Trump. With preoccupations like these, it's easy to see why Melania would yearn for a return to a more private life. In fact, her top aide, Stephanie Grisham, told Rogers that Melania's biggest focus when Donald lost the 2020 election was "whether she would still have access to security and to people who could drive her around" (via the Daily Mail). It's possible that Melania's absence from the campaign trail these days shows that she simply doesn't want to be back in the White House.