Signs Melania Trump Wasn't Thrilled About Life In The White House
Melania Trump's feelings about her time in the White House and her role as First Lady largely depends on who you ask. If you consult her husband, Donald Trump, you'd think Melania was practically skipping through the halls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. "Melania, our great and very hard working first lady, who truly loves what she is doing," he once tweeted. However, if you ask the other people around her, you'd likely hear a different story.
To be fair to Melania, she's hardly the only First Lady to ever show reluctance for the job and living in D.C. Bess Truman reportedly spent half her tenure as First Lady living in Missouri to tend to her child, while Jackie Kennedy was often reported to be venturing everywhere but the White House. Even Eleanor Roosevelt, the gold standard of First Ladies, once expressed apprehension about fulfilling the post. And Melania? She never aspired to be First Lady at all. "This isn't something she wanted and it isn't something he [Donald] ever thought he'd win," a friend of the Trumps shared with Vanity Fair. "She didn't want this come hell or high water. I don't think she thought it was going to happen."
Melania's supposed disdain for being First Lady is likely why it appears that she merely tolerated the White House Life. Not only did she stall on moving in, but she even reportedly hesitated to hand over the reins to Jill Biden, effectively skipping out on a longstanding tradition.
It took her a long time to move in
It's customary for any First Family to move into the White House on Inauguration Day, but in 2017, Melania Trump deviated from the practice and took her sweet time doing so. It was initially assumed that she opted to remain in New York to allow her son, Barron, to complete his school year, but sources dished at the time that the former First Lady wanted to hold on to her old routine away from all the political whirlwind a while longer. "Melania wants to stay in New York while her son goes to school," the insider shared with People. "I don't know if she will ever live away from New York full time, especially with her son in school there. She loves her home in Manhattan and her independent life."
What's more, there were also speculations that her delayed relocation was partly to take a step back from the chaotic election campaign and renegotiate her prenuptial agreement, which was initially not in her favor. In the book titled "The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump," journalist Mary Jordan wrote that Melania used her time away from Donald "to amend her financial arrangement with Trump — what Melania referred to as 'taking care of Barron,'" per The Washington Post. And apparently, it's not for her sake, but for her son's. "She wanted proof in writing that when it came to financial opportunities and inheritance, Barron would be treated as more of an equal to Trump's oldest three children," Jordan claimed.
She reportedly skipped out on a longstanding White House tradition
While Melania Trump has been mostly diligent in her responsibilities as First Lady during her tenure, she didn't exactly hide her disdain for certain tasks, like dressing up the White House for Christmas. She was once recorded ranting about decking the halls: "I'm working ... my a** off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f*** about the Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, right?" she said (via CNN). It was pretty clear that she was desperate to skedaddle out of there, so much so that she even reportedly skipped out on giving the Bidens a tour of the White House, something that many outgoing First Ladies have done in the past. Ashley Biden confirmed it in an appearance on "The Today Show": "No, I don't think they're doing the traditional protocol, which is unfortunate," she said.
Then again, it's pretty impressive that Melania managed to stick it out for as long as she did, given reports of her aversion to the role and her desire to return to life in New York. "She was relieved when her husband's term ended," a source told People. "Melania does not like being in the public eye and has made it clear that she isn't interested in doing it again ... She likes family and her private life. The media glare is not for her."