Discreet, even hidden in this campaign for the American presidential election, Melania Trump remains an indispensable pillar for her husband.
The art of restraint. The presence of Melania Trump in the media space and/or accompanied by her husband in this campaign for the 2024 presidential election has become rare. So rare that it is sometimes difficult to understand his role alongside the one who multiplies the slip-ups during the meetings, relaying false information. Last Sunday, however, the former first lady appeared alongside Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden, in New York, to officially support the former President of the United States in the final stretch before the vote launched on Tuesday, November 5 .
“New York City and America need to rediscover their magic,” she said. It was quite simply the first time that the latter appeared with her husband since the Republican had launched the race for the White House, with the aim of running for a second term at the head of the first power in the world. Her appearance in the legendary New York venue was a real surprise as she is said to be far from her husband, with whom the love story takes a back seat. During a four-minute speech, she quickly denigrated the management of the city by Democrat Eric Adams, arguing about economic instability, without making it her case. “Imagine a wonderful America where the seeds of security, prosperity and health are once again sown for the benefit of our families,” she continued. Words which had the merit of bringing Donald Trump on stage, giving him a kiss on the cheek. No more. But it’s already a gesture of affection that no one expected.
“My body, my choice”: an ideological fight against her husband
In fact, Melania Trump appears to be a fairly relative asset for Donald Trump in this campaign. His main feat of arms: the defense of a contested right in the United States, the right to abortion. In her autobiography, the former model recalls her main struggle: “It is imperative to guarantee women the autonomy to decide on their preference regarding having children, based on their personal convictions,” she writes. A position very clearly out of step with the postulate and program, written in black and white, of her husband and the American Republican Party.
Indeed,Donald Trump maintains uncertainty regarding the future of abortions in the country. He does not position himself on the line of the American religious right, according to which we should promise an outright ban on abortion throughout the country through federal law. However, he does not clearly position himself in favor of abortion, as his wife was able to do: “You have to follow your soul and conscience on this issue, but don’t forget that you also have to win elections,” he said. The Republican is trying to present himself as a defender of “reproductive rights”, an adjustment compared to his previous mandate.
On the front page of the American version of the magazine The Week in October, Melania Trump spoke out again on the subject of abortion: “My body, my choice,” she proclaimed. And “the moment to express this point of view, a few weeks before the elections, comes at just the right moment”, indicates The Week. An outing which could be akin to a final attempt on his part to attract into the net of the Republicans, a female electorate still skeptical about their vote, “Kamala Harris having a lead of 21 points”, in this segment, specifies the media.
Donald Trump has blind confidence in him
So, is Melania Trump sailing by sight or is she following a well-crafted strategy to try to help her husband in his ultimate quest? “She plays a much more important role than we want to believe (…) I have never seen her as united and supportive of her husband as in recent weeks. At the same time, her name is is Trump, her son’s name too, she loves his life,” says Mary Jordan, journalist at the Washington Post and author of. The Art of Her Deal: The untold story of Melania Trumpwork published in 2020. Despite the controversies, the revelations about the affair between Trump and the porn star Stormy Daniels, for example, Melania Trump remains, and does not let go of her husband.
On the subject of abortion, “we talked about it and I told him: ‘You have to write what you believe in, I’m not going to tell you what you have to do'”, Donald Trump conceded to his wife, at the microphone of Fox News. “There are people who are very, very right-wing on the issue, that is to say who do not want an exception (…) And there are other people who see things a little differently” regarding the ban on abortion, he continues. Results of the races: the former President of the United States continues to maintain vagueness about his positions, while publicly placing his trust in his wife. So the couple’s ideological break serves the Republican, who may appear less radical on the subject of abortion.
“She doesn’t know much about economic policies or the deal with Iran”, on the other hand, “the circle of people in whom Donald Trump trusts is increasingly restricted. He submits certain decisions to Melania, who shares his opinion and his instinct,” adds Mary Jordan. The journalist also insists on the fact that the former first lady also advises her husband on his makeup and on his posture “as a former model”. The two reportedly share “an obsession with image…and a contempt for criticism.”
Express Biography of Melania Trump
Melania Trump – Melania Knauss by her maiden name – was born in 1970 in Sevnica, a small town in Slovenia. His father is a mechanic and his mother a fashion designer. She began her modeling career at age 16, while studying for a degree in design and architecture, according to her website. Two years later, she signed a contract with a Milanese agency. Far from the most sought-after models on the planet, she nevertheless managed to make her career take off thanks to almost perfect appearance. In 1996, the young woman moved to New York. She was then at the peak of her modeling career.
Melania Trump met her billionaire husband two years later, in 1998, during a party on the sidelines of Fashion Week. Rumors have it that she initially refused to give him her number. The politician, aged 53 at the time (he is 78 today), was accompanied to this event. Finally, in 2004, “Beauty and the Beast” married in Palm Beach, Florida. Before the 2016 presidential election, however, Melania Trump had to face controversy over her past as a model.
In the summer of 2015, the New York Post published several photos from a racy series. In the photo which made the cover of one of the issues, Melania Trump, aged 25 at the time, is completely naked alongside another woman, the two models posing for the French photographer Jarl Alé de Basseville. Donald Trump assured that there was no reason for these photos to cause a scandal. “Melania was one of the most successful models (…). These photos were taken for a European magazine (Max, editor’s note) before we met. In Europe, such photos are very fashionable, it is common,” declared the former President of the United States.