What Life Inside The White House Will Be Like For Melania And Barron Trump

Now that President Donald J. Trump has officially moved into White House, everyone wants to know: just how will his wife, Melania, and 10-year-old son, Barron, fit into the mix? Answers are still a little vague, but we do have an initial sense of how the mother-son duo will adjust to life in Washington, D.C. Well, as soon as they get there, anyway.

New Yorkers, already annoyed about the traffic in Midtown Manhattan, got an extra dose of heartburn added to their daily diet as speculation grew over how Melania would transport Barron to school each morning. So far, those fears have turned out to be a bit of an overreaction. According to TMZ, Barron's first day back to school since his father's inauguration went off without a hitch, so much so that "no one in NYC noticed." Sources say Barron was transported by two SUVs and not an actual motorcade, which could have meant Melania did not go along for the ride. Regardless, the low-key commute turned out to be a blessing. "There were no traffic tie-ups as Barron made his way uptown," TMZ reported. "Secret Service did not stop traffic along the route."

Melania made headlines in November 2016 when she gave a speech announcing plans to tackle cyberbullying as first lady. "Technology has changed our universe. But like anything that is powerful, it can have a bad side," she said (via Time). "...Children and teenagers can be fragile. They are hurt when they are made fun of or made to feel less in looks or intelligence. This makes their life hard and can force them to hide and retreat. Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and teenagers. It is never OK when a 12-year-old girl or boy is mocked, bullied, or attacked. It is terrible when that happens on the playground. And it is absolutely unacceptable when it is done by someone with no name hiding on the internet."

The powder blue Ralph Lauren dress that Melania wore to her husband's inauguration certainly turned heads, as it appeared to pay homage to former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Whether the former model and jewelry designer becomes a fashion icon on par with Kennedy or predecessor Michelle Obama remains to be seen. In fact, a number of prominent designers have said they will not dress Melania while she's in the White House, due in large part to her husband's politics. Other prominent fashion houses have volunteered to assist the first lady, including Tommy Hilfiger and Diane von Furstenberg, and some famous names, such as John Varvatos and Carolina Herrera, have fallen into a camp New York magazine referred to as "undecided." Famed designer Hervé Pierre helped Melania design the gown she wore to the inaugural balls, so she appears to be doing just fine in the fashion department.

If Melania thought she could sneak off to New York and hide from the press, the inauguration ceremonies proved that, like most first ladies before her, she's going to be under constant scrutiny while she's in the White House. The Internet is already churning out memes alleging Melania is sad and hates her life based solely on images from inauguration festivities. But despite the meme machine and her husband's assorted controversies, the American public may still be on her side. Politico reported in January 2017 that 47 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of the first lady. At the time of this writing, her numbers were much stronger than her husband's historically low initial approval ratings.