Melania Trump

First Lady of the United States

• Born: April 26, 1970
• Place of Birth: Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia)

• Education: University of Ljubljana (attended)

• Significance: Melania Trump became the First Lady of the United States on January 20, 2017, after her husband, Donald J. Trump, took office as president. He was ultimately defeated in his bid for reelection in 2020 but ran again in the 2024 presidential election. Before her marriage to Trump in 2005, Melania worked as a fashion model and appeared on the covers of Ocean Drive and Vogue.

Background

Melania Trump was born Melanija Knavs on April 26, 1970, in Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia). She grew up in Sevnica, a small town of less than five thousand people located approximately fifty miles to the east of the Slovenian capital city Ljubljana. Her father, Viktor, worked as a salesperson and later became a director of the government-owned Jutranjka textile factory. He was a member of the Communist Party at a time when party membership offered considerable professional benefits, although he was not an active member. Her father later launched a bicycle and car parts shop in Ljubljana. Her mother, Amalija, also worked at the Jutranjka textile factory, drawing patterns for children's clothes. She often sewed clothes for Trump and her sister, Ines, and fostered Trump's growing interest in fashion and design. Trump began sketching her own clothing designs, and her mother or sister would sew the patterns.

In 1985 Trump left Sevnica to attend the Secondary School of Design and Photography in Ljubljana, where she studied architecture and design. At the age of sixteen, she was scouted by the photographer Stane Jerko, who took the first professional photographs of Trump and helped her launch her modeling career. Later that year, Trump completed a fashion modeling course at a Slovenian cultural center. She enrolled at the University of Ljubljana, passing the school' s notoriously rigorous entrance exams, but she left the school after one year to focus on her modeling career.

Life' s Work

In 1992 Trump earned her first big break in the modeling world when she won second place in the Slovenian magazine Jana's Look of the Year modeling contest. The top three models in the contest earned contracts across Europe, and Trump left Slovenia to work in Milan, Italy. Around this time, she took on the Germanized spelling of her name, Melania Knauss. Between 1992 and 1996, Trump worked in Milan and Paris, mostly modeling for print advertisements. In 1995 she met Paolo Zampolli, the co-owner of the Metropolitan Models agency, who helped her secure a work visa to travel to the United States. In 1996, she relocated to New York City, where she rented an apartment at the Zeckendorf Towers on Union Square and continued to pursue modeling contracts. During her modeling career, she worked with a number of high-profile fashion photographers, including Patrick Demarchelier, Mario Testino, and Antoine Verglas. She appeared on the cover of Ocean Drive magazine in 1999 and British GQ in 2000.

In 1998, at a party hosted by Zampolli at the Kit Kat Club in Manhattan during New York Fashion Week, she met real estate developer Donald Trump, who had recently separated from his second wife. The two soon began dating and married in January 2005 in Palm Beach, Florida. Although she curtailed her modeling career after her marriage, she went on to appear on the covers of Vogue in 2005, Avenue in 2010, and Vanity Fair in 2016, among others.

In 2010 Trump launched her own jewelry line, the Melania Timepieces and Jewelry Collection, which sold out within forty-five minutes after it debuted on QVC. She designed the pieces in the collection herself, drawing inspiration from three of her favorite cities: New York, Paris, and Palm Beach. In 2012 she released a line of skincare products called Melania Beauty.

Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election in June 2015, and Melania Trump made her debut on the campaign trail in November 2015 at an event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In June 2016 Melania Trump delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. It soon emerged that portions of the speech were very similar to a speech by Michelle Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, generating considerable criticism for apparent plagiarism.

After Donald Trump was elected in November 2016 and took office on January 20, 2017, Melania Trump became the First Lady of the United States. She was the second First Lady—following Louisa Adams, the wife of John Quincy Adams—to have been born outside the United States. Following the inauguration, Trump initially remained in New York City with her son while he finished out the school year, before they joined the president in the White House in June 2017.

In May 2017 Trump, who could reportedly speak at least five languages, accompanied her husband on his first foreign trip as president. She delivered a speech at the United Nations in New York City in September 2017 promoting empathy and kindness. In May 2018 Trump launched her Be Best campaign to promote the well-being of young people. The initiative continued her anti-cyberbullying efforts and addressed the impact of opioids on young people. That same month, she drew media attention when she was hospitalized and underwent a procedure to treat what was reported to be a benign kidney condition.

In June 2018, Trump drew criticism and ire when she wore a jacket that had "I really don't care. Do U?" printed on the back while traveling to visit with immigrant children detained in McAllen, Texas, under the Trump administration's controversial zero-tolerance immigration policy. Stephanie Grisham, Trump's communications director, responded to criticism, saying, "It's a jacket. There's no hidden message." However, other sources suggested that Trump in fact paid very close attention to all her outfits, often using them to make subtle statements. Such a claim was made in the unauthorized biography Free, Melania (2019) by Kate Bennett, who covered the First Lady full-time for CNN. Though the book was hailed by some for providing insight into the life of the famously private Trump, official White House spokespeople denounced much of the content as false. Meanwhile, in the fall of 2018, she had traveled to Africa to spend a week in Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, and Egypt as part of her Be Best initiative.

When Donald Trump announced the start of his reelection campaign at a rally in June 2019, Melania Trump, who had spent time visiting the states of Oklahoma, Washington, and Nevada promoting Be Best in March, accompanied him. Speaking during the Republican National Convention in August 2020, she expressed sympathy for Americans struggling against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which by that point had led to the deaths of nearly two hundred thousand in the United States. On October 2, she and the president took to Twitter to confirm that they had tested positive for COVID-19. While she later reported that she had "mild symptoms" and did not plan on leaving isolation recovery at the White House, Donald Trump was admitted to a medical center on October 2 for monitoring and treatment as other members of the Trump administration were tested for possible infection. Both soon recovered.

In late October 2020, Trump accompanied her husband to the final debate against Democratic presidential challenger and former vice president Joe Biden. She otherwise kept a relatively low profile in the days leading up to the election, during which Donald Trump claimed that adjusted policies allowing for more mail-in voting due to health safety concerns related to the pandemic would likely result in widespread fraud. The president then refused to concede after Biden, having secured the Electoral College and the popular vote, was declared the winner of the election. While the president and many fellow Republicans continued to contest the results, some reports indicated that Melania Trump was one of those who eventually attempted to convince him to accept that Biden had won.

The Trumps left the White House in January 2021, skipping Biden's inauguration. The First Lady's farewell message emphasized national unity, contrasting with her husband, who continued to reject his defeat and stirred supporters who carried out a deadly attack against the US Capitol on January 6. After moving to Florida, Trump announced the creation of a post-White House office with plans to continue the Be Best initiative. Though she largely maintained a lower profile, by early 2022, she had been involved in efforts such as auctions, including one in late 2021 that saw a sale of artwork that only allowed cryptocurrency payments, through which a portion of profits would allegedly be given to charity organizations working to support foster children. As was true of much of her time in the White House, many commentators criticized her activities.

In October 2024, one month before the US presidential election in which Donald Trump ran against Kamala Harris, Trump released her book, Melania. In the memoir, she reveals that she supports abortion rights, even though her husband does not. However, in line with her husband, she refuses to concede that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to President Joe Biden. Melania was criticized by The New York Times reviewer Alexandra Jacobs for steering away from controversial issues such as Donald Trump's guilty verdict in the hush money criminal case involving porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleges she had an affair with Donald Trump after he married Trump. While Trump briefly discusses Black Lives Matter in her memoir, she never mentions George Floyd. Instead, Trump focuses on the jewelry she designed that was sold on QVC and her skin care product line.

Also in October 2024, Trump was interviewed by Fox News host Sean Hannity. She described the 2024 US presidential election as differing from previous elections because the country was more divided and the situation was especially dangerous. She discussed her husband surviving two assassination attempts, and the election cycle as being a long process in which people were canceling out others who did not share their beliefs.

Impact

While Trump had some impact on the fashion world as a model and earned tabloid attention early in her relationship with Donald Trump, it was as First Lady that she had the most visibility. Observers and analysts discussed and debated her role and influence in the Trump administration, especially in light of her efforts to keep a low profile and reports of her husband's infidelities and many other controversies. Some sources portrayed her as detached and oppressed while others suggested she held considerable political sway behind the scenes. She denied suggestions that she was unhappy her husband had won the election, as well as reports of various tensions within the Trump family. Although her campaign against cyberbullying earned some attention, Trump became generally known for paying less attention to public initiatives and holding far fewer media interviews than many previous first ladies, leading many commentators to label her a mysterious figure.

Personal Life

Melania and Donald Trump had one son, Barron William Trump, who was born on March 20, 2006. Trump notably emphasized her focus on motherhood above any responsibilities as first lady, and on several occasions she criticized the press for what she perceived as attacks on her son. Trump also maintained a close relationship with her parents, sponsoring their successful application for US citizenship (a move that was scrutinized in light of the Trump administration's stated opposition to the family sponsorship path to citizenship). Trump herself had become a US citizen in 2006, after obtaining permanent residency through the EB-1 program for immigrants with extraordinary abilities in 2001.

Bibliography

Bennett, Kate. Free, Melania: The Unauthorized Biography. Flatiron Books, 2019.

Bennett, Kate. "Melania Trump Announces She Has 'Mild Symptoms' of Coronavirus." CNN, 2 Oct. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/10/02/politics/melania-trump-coronavirus/index.html. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Bennett, Kate. "Melania Trump Hires Staff and Establishes Post-White House Office." CNN, 27 Jan. 2021, www.cnn.com/2021/01/27/politics/melania-trump-post-white-house/index.html. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Bennett, Kate. "Woman of Mystery: Melania Trump." CNN, 14 June 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/06/14/politics/melania-trump-woman-of-mystery-cnn/index.html. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Carnahan, Ashley. "Melania Trump on Why the 2024 Election Is Different: 'We Are Dealing with Much More Danger'." Fox News, 2 Oct. 2024, www.foxnews.com/media/melania-trump-why-2024-election-different-we-dealing-much-more-danger. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Collins, Kaitlan, et al. "Jared Kushner, Melania Trump Advise Trump to Accept Election Loss." CNN, 8 Nov. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/11/08/politics/jared-kushner-donald-trump-concession/index.html. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Collins, Lauren. "The Model American." The New Yorker, 9 May 2016, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/09/who-is-melania-trump. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Egan, Elisabeth. "6 Takeaways From Melania Trump's Unauthorized Biography." The New York Times, 2 Dec. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/12/02/books/melania-trump-first-lady-unauthorized-biography.html. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Horowitz, Jason. "Melania Trump: From Small-Town Slovenia to Doorstep of White House." The New York Times, 18 July 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/us/politics/melania-trump-slovenia.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.

Jacobs, Alexandra. "From Melania Trump: Modeling, Motherhood and a Brazen Whitewash of a Presidency." The New York Times, 5 Oct. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/10/05/books/review/melania-trump-memoir.html. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Ioffe, Julia. "Melania Trump on Her Rise, Her Family Secrets, and Her True Political Views." GQ, 27 Apr. 2017, www.gq.com/story/melania-trump-gq-interview. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Jordan, Mary. "Meet Melania Trump, a New Model for First Lady." The Washington Post, 30 Sept. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/meet-melania-trump-a-new-model-for-first-lady/2015/09/30/27ad0a9c-6781-11e5-8325-a42b5a459b1e‗story.html. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Lipton, Eric. "Charitable Offer by Melania Trump Is Rejected, a Move She Calls 'Politics.'" The New York Times, 18 Feb. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/02/18/us/politics/melania-trump-charity-donation.html. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

McCannon, Sarah. "One Month Later, What's Become of Melania Trump's 'Be Best' Campaign?" NPR, www.npr.org/2018/06/07/617642736/1-month-later-whats-become-of-melania-trumps-be-best-campaign. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

"Melania Trump: First Lady of the United States." The White House, www.whitehouse.gov/administration/first-lady-melania-trump. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Rapkin, Mickey. "Lady and the Trump." DuJour, May 2016, dujour.com/news/melania-trump-interview. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Trump, Melania. Melania. Skyhorse Publishing, 2024.