6 traditions of the first lady who broke Melania Trump
'17.08.2018'
Source: Cheat sheet
The role of the first lady of the United States, in fact, is not official. Therefore, there are no prescribed regulations on how it should behave in the presidential administration. And yet, over the years, many traditions have taken shape. And Melania Trump has already broken at least six of them.
This, by the way, is not always bad - perhaps some of the small rules are simply outdated and not worth following. But there are quite serious and important traditions that the first lady of the United States ignored, which angered and shocked many Americans, writes Cheat sheet.
1. She came to Congress separately from her husband.
Typically, the First Lady arrives at the State of Union with her spouse after a limousine picks them up from the White House. But Trump broke that tradition in 2018 by choosing to come to Congress separately from the president. Instead, she arrived at the event with her guests, the American heroes the president had mentioned in his speech.
Stephanie Grisham, director of public relations for the first lady, explained Melania's arrival as a need to show respect for the guests she sat next to during Trump's speech. At the White House, she also held a separate reception specifically for these people - and this was also not a tradition.
2. She did not move to the White House immediately after the inauguration.
The first ladies always move to the White House after the inauguration of the president. But Mrs. Trump decided not to. The official reason was that she needed to stay in New York until the end of the school year of her son Barron. In the first few months of her new duties, Melania appeared in Washington at major events, but she lived in New York the whole time.
In June 2017, she nevertheless moved to the White House, where she has lived since then. By the way, earlier various sources claimed that Melania and Donald slept in different bedrooms - and this is also the first time since John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline.
3. She did not accompany the wife of the Prime Minister of Japan during a trip to Washington
In February, 2017, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his spouse Aki Abe visited the White House. The first lady, as a rule, accompanies the wives of foreign leaders during their trips and walks in Washington. But Melania has broken this tradition. She met with Aki Abe when she first arrived, but during the planned trips around the city of Melania, they did not notice the minister next to his wife.
When reporters noticed this, the White House issued an official statement: "The First Lady was looking forward to meeting Mrs. Abe at the White House upon arrival in Washington, but was informed that Mrs. Abe had previously planned arrangements during her stay in the city." ...
4. She did not hold a state dinner in 2017
Traditionally, the first ladies plan and conduct state dinners at the White House. But in 2017, the Trump White House did not organize this event, thus Donald Trump became the first president in nearly 100 years who did not hold such a dinner.
When spokeswoman Sarah Sanders was asked about the reason, she said there was “no particular reason”. But many blamed Melania, since it was the first lady's responsibility to plan a traditional dinner.
By the way, the state dinner took place in 2018 - Melania and Donald took the married couple the president of France in the White House, and everything went on top, according to insiders.
5. She set up the Christmas tree too early
As a rule, the first lady sets up a Christmas tree in the White House (of course, not literally) and opens it - and this happens on the Friday after Thanksgiving. In November 2017, Trump adopted the Christmas tree a few days earlier, the Monday in the week before the holiday.
The reason was that Trump decided to spend Thanksgiving Day at his estate in Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, so they didn’t plan to be in the White House the day after the holiday.
6. Melania and Donald missed Kennedy Center Honors
The President and First Lady usually attend the Kennedy Center Honors event, where they award the best performing artists for their contributions to American culture. As a rule, this is accompanied by a reception at the White House. In 2017, Donald and Melania Trump decided not to be rewarded after several laureates said they would miss dinner at the White House in protest.
“The President and First Lady decided not to participate in this year's events to allow the laureates to celebrate without being distracted by politics,” said a White House spokeswoman.
The situation was not entirely unprecedented - this happened before during periods of unexpected crises or mismatching schedules. But, as a rule, if the president could not come, the first lady came to the holiday. The absence of both was highly unusual.
7. However, she still preserved a lot of traditions
Just because Melania broke some of the rules, one cannot say that she does not adhere to the traditions of the American first ladies. On the contrary, Mrs. Trump tries to follow most of them, for example, including Easter Egg Skating on the lawn of the White House.
Entering the White House as hostess, Melania also began appearing at more events than the first ladies traditionally did. Plus, like her predecessors, Mrs. Trump has chosen a mission for herself - in 2016 she announced that she would fight cyberbullying, and spoke on this topic in the UN in September 2017. Also in 2017, Mrs. Trump unveiled the White House Christmas decor, which was aptly named "Time Honored Traditions." And in 2018 she intends repeat this experience.
