Melania Trump just wants to go home
When President Donald Trump insisted on rejecting the results of the Presidential election and challenging them in mid-November, First Lady Melania Trump said she supported her husband's move. But lately, Melania's attitude has changed: She just wants to go home and quickly leave the White House.
In fact, quietly, after all the states had finished the official tally, Melania assigned an envoy to find out what was available to her in terms of budget and staff allocations for post-White House life.
While the President is busy looking for ways to stay in the White House, the first lady decides what to keep, what to bring to the Trump residence in New York City, and what to tag for delivery to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. Florida, Trump's official home.
"He just wants to go home," said another source with knowledge of Melania Trump's state of mind, as quoted by CNN.com, Thursday (10/12).
Asked how the first lady felt about rumors that her husband might announce the 2024 offer, the source added: "It may not go well."
The first lady secretly brought Marcia Lee Kelly to her East Wing staff in April as a special government employee. She is unpaid and serves as a volunteer, but her job as Melania's special advisor has proven to be very helpful due to the waning months of her first term.
Kelly previously ran the White House Administrative Office and after it became clear that Melania needed to prepare for her life after Washington, the first lady told Kelly to quietly ask West Wing acquaintances and members of the Office of Management and Budget if any state funds were allocated to the former first lady, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussion.
But the answer is none. While there are post-presidential allowances for such things for former presidents, budgets for setting up official offices and staff and covering some travel expenses, none from the government for any first lady. He will only get $ 20,000 per year or around Rp.282 million in benefits if Donald Trump dies.
First Lady's legacy
The transition process at the White House is currently underway. The staff is taking an inventory of what Trump's items are to be brought and which are state-owned.
Melania herself is more focused on preparing her legacy as the first lady. One thing to consider was writing books, though most likely not memoirs - post-White House writing that is the tradition most first ladies practice. Michelle Obama's memoir, "Becoming," and Laura Bush's memoir, "Spoken from the Heart," are bestsellers.
Melania is said to have prepared a photo-centered book on the history of White House ministry, or one that may center on a design project she completed as first lady, according to a source.
"Mrs Trump is focused on her role as first lady. Monday she revealed her latest efforts in preserving the White House by announcing the completion of the tennis pavilion. She also recently unveiled new artwork in the newly renovated Rose Garden. Her office recently revealed the Christmas decorations of the year. Her schedule remains full of her duties as mother, wife and first lady of the United States, "First Lady's chief of staff Stephanie Grisham told CNN.
Returning to Mar-a-Lago Florida
Meanwhile, another source was quoted as saying by CNN as saying Melania was preparing her next residence at Mar-a-Lago, a Florida seaside resort that became Donald Trump's official residence on his ID card after moving from New York.
Melania wants to ensure a smooth transition out of Washington for herself and her 14-year-old son Barron, who one source confirmed will complete her school year in Florida and not the posh suburban Maryland private school she's been attending for the past three years.
While Trump has not given up, Melania is already overseeing the delivery of personal items to Mar-a-Lago from the White House and the Trump Tower penthouse in New York City, a source at the resort confirmed to CNN.
Tham Kannalikham, an interior decorator Trump hired in 2017 to redesign the private residences of White House executives when they moved, has for the past few weeks focused on Trump's "home" in Mar-a-Lago, a source said.
That includes overseeing painting, new textiles and providing assistance for aesthetic facelift for a space that will now be the permanent residence of the family.
Minor bathroom renovations are also underway, although nothing major can be built on the property without the tedious licensing process, as Mar-a-Lago is a national heritage building and the renovation process requires permission from the city council which is very difficult.
For a family that used to live several floors in a Manhattan penthouse, as reflected by the Trump Tower residence, they will be greatly reduced in size to live in Mar-a-Lago, which is part of the reason the first lady is now further customizing private rooms, where , like in the White House, he has his own bedroom and dressing room.
The Mar-a-Lago residence has about 3,000 square feet of the property's main building, enough area for many families, but relatively studio apartments after living in the 55,000-square-foot White House mansion.
"It was like living full time in a nice hotel," said Laurence Leamer, author of "Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump's Presidential Palace."
"It's fine for a moment, but can you imagine Donald Trump just sitting there six months of the year? It's going to start to feel cramped up very quickly."
Not to mention the club members who would milling through the former President's front door every time they walked from the pool to the dining room, or the spa to the terrace.
"This is going to be the weirdest thing," said Leamer, who suggested if Trump was as rich as he claimed he should close down the club and keep the entire mansion as his home.
Melania views Mar-a-Lago as a peaceful retreat with sunshine, solitude and self-care.
Melania also knows Mar-a-Lago is the only place where her husband might find a piece of peace he will most likely need now that he's spent four years in public.
"He realized he was not the type of former President who would retreat to a quiet life writing his memoirs, or taking up oil paintings," said one source, referring to Barack Obama and George W Bush's post-White House habits.
On Saturday at the Georgia rally, Donald Trump told the crowd that he would look forward to a post-White House life in Mar-a-Lago.
"I'm going to Florida ... I'll take it easy," he said.
