Melania Trump emerges from her silence with a crash
For a long time, she remained silent. Then, by small touches, she showed herself more present. This week, Melania Trump gave her voice, in spectacular fashion.
By publicly calling for the departure of an adviser to her husband Donald Trump, the US president's third wife took everyone by surprise.
Of course, other First Ladies in the history of the United States have been involved in the operation of the "West Wing", the wing of the White House where the President and his inner circle work. But they usually didn't do it in broad daylight.
"Nancy Reagan campaigned, with success, for the departure of Donald Regan from the post of secretary general of the White House under Ronald Reagan in the 80s", recalls Katherine Jellison, professor of history at the University of Ohio. "But she did so discreetly and without any public announcement."
Claiming through her spokesperson that Mira Ricardel, who held a key position in the powerful National Security Council, no longer deserved "the honor of working in the White House", Melania Trump, 48, went the balance of power with certain senior officials of the administration. And forced the executive to announce the departure of the latter.
According to several American media, the controversy was in particular linked to the distribution of seats in the plane with which the First Lady traveled to Africa last month.
"There has always been a tension between the domain of the President in the West Wing and that of the First Lady in the East Wing," said Kate Andersen, author of a book on the evolution of the role of First Lady in the 'history. "The difference here is that President Trump has built his presidency on the model of a reality show and now the First Lady seems to adopt the same tone."
The former Slovenian-born model, who married Donald Trump (23 years older than her) in 2005 and became American the following year, marked her independence from the early days by indicating that she would not be moving while back to Washington to let his son Barron finish his school year in New York.
But once installed at 1600 Pennsylvania avenue, she was extremely discreet, leaving observers to speculate in vain on the personality of this woman to whom the adjective "enigmatic" was systematically attached.
Response to 'left-wing media'
In an interview with ABC channel in mid-October, during her trip to Africa, Melania Trump gave the first signs of a change of tone.
For the first time, she has embraced some of her husband's aggressive media rhetoric.
Why had she chosen, at the end of June, during a trip to the border with Mexico, to wear a jacket on which could be read "I really don't care, do u?" (I don't care, do you?).
The message was intended "for people and left-wing media who criticize me," she replied. "I want to show them that I don't care. They can criticize as much as they want, that won't stop me from doing what I think is right."
On Thursday, during a speech in Washington, she defended with a touch of annoyance her campaign against online harassment, which since day one has aroused a form of perplexity as her husband is known for his inflammatory, aggressive or mocking outings. on Twitter.
"It does not surprise me that the critics and the media have chosen to ridicule me for speaking out on this subject," she said. "I remain determined to take this subject head-on because it is crucial to building a better world for our children."
Will the new, more visible posture of Melania Trump be a political asset for Donald Trump, who already has his eyes on the next presidential election in 2020? Maybe, but the equation is complicated.
"One of the qualities that many people admire in Mrs. Trump is her ability to stay above the fray," Katherine Jellison told AFP. "In stark contrast to her husband's tempestuous personality, she has mostly displayed calm and restraint in public."
"If she evolves towards a behavior perhaps closer to his own, she could lose some of the sympathy capital that she has accumulated."
