Melania Trump's Non-Answer About Wanting To Be First Lady Again Says It All

With just a week left until Election Day, both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are surely envisioning how it would feel to be the next president. Former First Lady Melania Trump is clearly thinking about it, too. Yet, she may not be quite so eager to return to the White House. There has long been speculation that Melania didn't enjoy her time as first lady. And now, what she didn't say about the possibility of returning to the White House spoke volumes.

On October 29, Melania appeared on "Fox & Friends" and was asked: "Are you anxious to be first lady again? Do you want to be first lady again?" Rather than simply saying that she hopes to get another shot at being first lady, she did quite a bit of rambling and simply explained that she has done it before. "I'm not anxious because this time is different. I have much more experience, much more knowledge," Melania explained. She added, "I was in the White House before. So, when you go in, you know exactly what to expect. You know what kind of people you need to get. You need to have people [that are] on your team, that they have the same vision as me and to serve me because they served the country." Does this mean that she wants to be first lady again? That seems to be deliberately unclear. 

Melania Trump's hesitance to reveal her true feelings about returning to the White House on television may explain why she seemed to purposely avoid answering questions about it. If Melania doesn't want to be the first lady again, this shouldn't actually come as much of a surprise. After all, her rumored future plans have suggested that even if Donald Trump does win a second term as president, she may not be entirely signed on for a second term as first lady. In June 2024, a source told Page Six, "Melania has made a deal with her husband that if he wins the presidency, she will not have to be on first lady duty 24/7." They added that she planned on spending time with her 18-year-old son, Barron Trump, who is a freshman at NYU, explaining, "She's a hands-on mother and is already planning to spend part of every month — and potentially every week — in NYC."

Melania is clearly a more private person than her husband. Her speaking engagements and interviews are few and far between, and she was absent for much of the campaign trail. Author Kate Andersen Brower told Axios that Melania has been "distancing herself even more from her husband and from the Washington social-political scene," adding that "She clearly hated being in Washington." It wouldn't have been wise for Melania to admit this in an interview, but it's easy enough to read between the lines.