Documentary lifts veil on 'obscure object of power' Melania Trump
Who is Melania Trump? This is the question that the journalist Laurence Haïm asked herself in her documentary "Melania Trump, this obscure object of power", broadcast online on arte.tv from CE Monday. It shows that the First Lady plays a significant political role with Donald Trump, thus bypassing his image of "lovely idiot", in the words of the journalist.
A few weeks before the American presidential election, an unprecedented documentary centered on the enigmatic personality of Melania Trump, the First Lady of the United States posted Monday on the arte.tv site. Created by journalist Laurence Haïm, it will be broadcast on November 2 on the parliamentary channel. According to her, Melania Trump plays a notable role with Donald Trump behind his image of "ravishing idiot".
“When you are with friends, and you tell them that Melania Trump might be interesting, 95% of people say to you, 'No, she's the lovely idiot.' I really wanted to break that and to take an interest in her, "explains Laurence Haïm, who spent a year and a half preparing this documentary.
Mon Documentaire a voir ! 🇺🇸
— LAURENCE HAIM (@lauhaim) October 12, 2020
💻 "Melania Trump, cet obscur objet du pouvoir" à découvrir dès lundi sur la plateforme d'@ARTEfr
📺 Le 2 novembre sur @LCP@Justineplanchon @3eOeilProd Extrait: pic.twitter.com/Kpr8bt3Fni
A minimized political role
Unfortunately, his requests for an interview with Melania Trump were never successful. The preparation of the film was further complicated by the increased distrust of part of the United States of the press. But Laurence Haïm, a specialist in American politics, was absolutely keen to highlight little-known aspects of the role of Donald Trump's wife.
She takes for example an episode that occurred in October 2016, in the middle of the presidential campaign. Donald Trump was heard on a bus talking in an excruciating way about women. Five days later, Melania Trump did a big interview on American television to say that it was just dressing room talk and that Donald Trump is not like that in private, ”recalls Laurence Haïm. For her, this attitude shows that Melania Trump is still intervening "in support" of Donald Trump.
"It is not clear who Melania Trump is"
The journalist who has just joined the LCI channel to cover the American presidential election, believes that this support from the first lady illustrates a political strategy, which "escapes French perception". "We do not know who Melania Trump is, but politically, she still serves him and stabilizes him," she said, referring to Donald Trump.
