Melania Trump, the mysterious new first lady of the United States
Donald Trump's wife studied architecture in Slovenia and speaks five languages. She will be the first “First Lady” born in a communist country.
Donald Trump had not yet quite divorced Marla Maples when he met. It was 1998, and the young Slovenian immigrant was 28 years old. Trump was 55. They met at a gala honoring the renovation of Grand Central Terminal, a train station in which then-real estate mogul Trump had invested.
This is the first story. The second relates that they met in New York again in 1998 but at the Kit Kat Club, at a party hosted by the boss of a modeling agency. “A month later, the Daily News reported that Knauss, 'Donald Trump's new model', had been hired to appear in BMW's latest ad,” says journalist Michael D'Antonio in the book “The truth about Trump ":" Unlike the former Mrs. Trump, Melania was not interested in the idea of being Donald's partner outside of marriage, "he adds.
However, while the two ex-wives of the distinguished themselves for their philanthropic activities, Melania Knauss had no ambition at the time: the question was never "ask yourself what Donald can do for you", rather, "ask yourself what you can do for Donald," says a friend of the couple. The phrase referring to the famous inaugural address of the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzerald Kennedy, has special resonance today as Donald Trump is now the 45th President of the United States.
To the rescue of her husband
What did she do for Donald? Humanize him during the campaign, when he was portrayed as a sexist being. In October, when the man was entangled in a video affair in which he made misogynistic remarks, she gave a lengthy interview to the CNN television station: “I told her that his language was not appropriate, that it was not acceptable to speak like this (...) but it was only discussions of "guys" (...) It was like two teenagers ". And to add: "My husband is a nice person, he is a gentleman".
Before this outing to her husband's rescue, Melania spoke very little during the campaign. It must be said that during her speech at the Republican convention, she was accused of having plagiarized Michelle Obama's speech. So, since then she has remained discreet, Donald Trump preferring to trust his daughter Ivanka, considered from then on as the first substitute lady.
The Melania Trump mystery remains unresolved: "Her story is so empty, it takes a lot of imagination to fill it out," Vanity Fair reporter Lauren Collins wrote. You don't really know what she is thinking, what her deepest beliefs are. On election day, Internet users laughed at her. Beside her, Donald Trump seemed to be watching her as if to make sure she would vote for him.
Born in a communist country
Melania Trump was born in 1970 in Novo Mesto in Yugoslavia and raised in Sevnica. She will therefore be the first “First Lady” born in a communist country. Young, Melania arrives in the United States to become a model. According to Trump, "a bizarre clause in the US immigration code allows models, many of whom do not have the equivalent of the baccalaureate, to be granted an H-1B visa, the same as high-level scientists or computer programmers'. Ironically, during his campaign, Donald Trump openly criticized the "widespread and abusive use of H1-B".
After seven years of relationship, the couple married on January 22, 2005 at the Palm Beach Church. The reception is a social gathering: Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Shaquille O’Neal and Rudy Giuliani. On their engagement day, Donald Trump gives Melania Trump a $ 1.5 million ring, obtained at half price due to the publicity surrounding the future marriage. After the event, Melania Trump will continue to work as a model, but more importantly, she will spend her time caring for her son, born in 2006, Barron. In People magazine, her main occupation is Pilates classes and reading magazines. In the Washington Post, a friend indicates that the new "First lady" is a model "with the past of nun".
What first lady?
Others see the new first lady as haughty but rather pleasant, "too kind for New York." But that wouldn't let anything shine about her style as first lady. She's already flaunted the color: “I'll be like Jackie Kennedy,” she said.
Melania Trump speaks five languages fluently: Slovenian, English (with a hint of accent), French, Serbian and German. She also studied architecture at the University of Lubjana, the capital of Slovenia. Perhaps this is the image she will cultivate. In an interview with CNN she said, “Don't be sorry for me. People often say of me “Oh Melania, poor Melania!”. But people don't know me. I am very strong. Don't be sorry for me, I can handle everything ”. She now has four years to prove it.
