Book: Melania delayed going to Washington for prenuptial agreement
First lady Melania Trump delayed her move to Washington after Donald Trump became president to gain the upper hand in renegotiating her prenup, according to a new book. The White House criticized the book after it was made public on Friday.
Mary Jordan, author of the book "The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump", wrote that the 2016 campaign was littered with reports about the alleged infidelities of Trump and that the first lady learned new details of these through the press.
Jordan, a reporter for The Washington Post, wrote that the incoming first lady wanted time to reassure herself and amend her financial agreement with Trump to secure the financial future of both her and hers, her son, Barron. Melania Trump has said that she wanted to wait until the end of the school year to move to Washington.
"During the presidential campaign, Melania felt that much had changed since she signed her prenup," Jordan wrote, citing interviews with several people close to the Trump couple. “She had been with him a long time, longer than any other woman. She considered that she had made important contributions to her success. There were discussions that Trump would probably not return to oversee the Trump Organization after leading the country and Melania wanted to ensure that Barron got his fair share of the inheritance, particularly if Ivanka (the president's daughter) took over the reins of the family business. " .
"While he put her plans in order as first lady and a new school for hers, her son, he also worked to get her husband to sign a more generous financial agreement for her and Barron," according to the book, which will be Posted June 16. The Associated Press purchased an advance copy.
According to The Washington Post, Jordan conducted more than a hundred interviews for her book, including with the first lady's schoolmates in her native Slovenia and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Trump, said the book was based on inaccurate information. "One more book on Mrs. Trump with false information and sources," Grisham said in an email statement. "This book belongs to the genre of fiction."
The first lady and Barron, then 11, moved into the White House in early June 2017 and she seemed visibly happier by mid-2018, the book says.
"According to three people close to Trump, a key reason was that she had finally struck a new and significantly improved financial agreement with Trump, which left her in a markedly better financial position," Jordan wrote. "Those sources didn't know exactly what she was looking for, but it wasn't just more money."
"She wanted written evidence that when it came to inheritance and financial opportunities, Barron would be treated more equitably with Trump's older children."
