How Melania Trump became a backstage force in the White House
'06.04.2018'
Source: The Daily Mail
Ronald Kessler, a former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal journalist and longtime friend of US President Donald Trump, wrote the book Trump's White House: Changing the Rules of the Game.
In an exclusive excerpt from a book published on The Daily MailKessler writes about Melania Trump's special relationship with her spouse and how she succeeded in her new role as first lady.
More often than previous first ladies, Melania accompanies her husband on travel to express sympathy for victims of natural disasters - in particular, hurricanes Harvey and Irma. But Melania's most important role is unlikely to go public.
“She's a very powerful behind-the-scenes force,” says Sean Spicer, a 2017 White House spokesman. “I don’t think people are fully aware of how influential she is. She always seems to be the right person at the right time. The point is that she really knows how to assess the situation and give advice on how to solve the problem. She may say, “This is bad for you. It doesn't match what you said. ” And she's always right. "
Melania attentively reads both publications in the press and articles on the Internet. She once told Kessler at a meeting with Trump that she read all of his articles. Husband First Lady shows both positive and negative articles, which, in her opinion, he should read.
Steve Bannon, Trump's general campaign manager, says Melanie:
“I think she performs a lot of tasks as the first lady because she is just very proud of it. She is a very discreet person, not one of those who are trying to attract attention. ”
Although Melania often agrees with the tips of assistants, as Spicer writes, she becomes the first person to really weigh everything. In some cases, she will let the assistant know what is on his side if this person is attacked by Donald Trump, and apparently also tells the spouse about it. In addition, Melania warns Trump if it seems to her that a dubious character is trying to ingratiate himself with him.
He adds: “You can write something negative about the president. If it is justified, Melania will show it to him. ”
“Those of us who have the privilege of knowing and working with her recognize and appreciate how great she is,” says Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager, of Melania. - She has amazing instincts, political and not only. She reads people well. Her own story as an immigrant who heard about a wonderful place called America is inspiring. She was a little girl in Slovenia and came to this country to fulfill her dreams. Melania is a successful woman, a devoted wife and mother. "
Moreover, the first lady is a rather modest person. “Great photos, but I didn't do very well,” Melania wrote, adding an emoticon, about the picture with Kessler at the Trump's dinner in Mar-a-Lago on New Year's.
All the first ladies in one way or another influence the husbands and their administration, using a look at the problem from a different angle. Laura Bush, according to Clay Johnson, a friend of George W. Bush, was practically prevented by her husband from taking part in political issues, taking up social and humanitarian issues. But she could ask her spouse about his political goals: “Do you really want to do this, or do you want to influence how the leadership looks today?”. Secret Service agents reported that Michelle Obama motivated her husband to be more aggressive in dealing with Republicans and in accepting the side of African Americans in police shooting cases. Unlike both first ladies, Melania communicates with advisers and discusses political issues, helping to focus on strategy.
Laura was fond of literary works, and Melania is read articles about current events and policy issues. The First Lady also took control of events in the White House, stating that all planning and organization should take place under her attention. In addition, she is trying to cool her husband's reactions when he feels that he is being attacked, and a counterattack will only worsen the situation.
A striking example of self-destructive tendencies was Trump's decision to file senseless lawsuits to stop the publication of Michael Wolfe's book “Fire and Rage”, thereby only increasing sales. Sometimes Trump listens.
Melania's only advice that her husband does not follow may be her constant suggestion to stop sending a lot of tweets to her 40 million audience on the social network - at the moment, the US president has more followers than any world leader.
"She might say he shouldn't tweet that often, just stop reading and posting, slow down." But, according to Chris Raddy, a friend of Donald Trump, this will be an area where Melania will not be able to win - at his age, Trump is not going to change.
