Where’s America’s First Lady? What Melania’s absence from Trump’s White House means | 60 Minutes Aus

Where’s America’s First Lady? What Melania’s absence from Trump’s White House means | 60 Minutes Aus

coming up she knew who she’d married right she wasn’t marrying a saint now you see her now you don’t they’re never in the same place the mystery of the vanishing first lady there are some reports that they have virtually separated it’s a marriage that works for them where has Melania gone she’s not afraid to have a difference of opinion and what does her absence mean for the most powerful man in the world does she love him do you think she hates his guts that’s next on 60 Minutes it is one of the most curious questions being asked of Donald Trump 2.0 where on earth is Melania while the US president has barely been out of the news the first lady has been utterly conspicuous by her absence since her husband was sworn into office 139 days ago Melania has largely given Washington DC a body swerve appearing at just a handful of official public engagements her defiance of presidential protocol and long-standing White House traditions has been met with headscratching scorn and plaudits in equal measure so where has the first lady gone and what does her disappearing act mean for her 20-year marriage with the world’s most powerful man it’s the question White House watchers are desperate to answer where is America’s first lady i’ve been shocked by how how little she has been here a tumble weed could roll through the East Wing offices on most days um and and just there’s not a lot of activity during Donald Trump’s first term in office Melania was seldom seen but this time around she’s practically invisible i just feel that people didn’t accept me maybe they didn’t understand me uh the way maybe they do now and uh I didn’t have much support in this rare interview late last year the enigmatic first lady insisted she’ll do the role her own way i’m standing on my own two feet independent i have my own thoughts i have my own yes and no melania Trump has spent just a few weeks here at the White House since her husband was inaugurated in January and while officials are quick to say there’s nothing going on Melania’s absence is not only deepening the intrigue that already surrounds the former model it’s also fueling speculation about her relationship with the divisive president i will be in the White House and you know when I need to be in New York I will be in New York when I need to be in Palm Beach I will be in Palm Beach but my uh my first priority is you know to be a mom to be a first lady to be a wife the snubs the hand flicks and those infamous eye rolls it’s these awkward and very public marital moments that keep fueling speculation there’s trouble in paradise does she love him do you think at one point I I asked someone who’s very close to them and I said you know so what’s going on and this person looked at me like I was a real dunce um and then said she hates his [Music] guts michael Wolf doesn’t mince his words especially when it comes to Donald and Melania Trump can you give any insight into why Melania would hate her husband well I mean other than the fact that he um has a long history of relationships with other women um porn stars and the like and that he’s not a very nice guy and and he doesn’t listen to anyone ever so I doubt if he would listen to his wife should I go on the audacious author spent seven months inside the White House after the Trumps first took office in 2016 what was it like in there there was a level of of chaos here that was you know pretty much unprecedented very quickly there was the sense that wheels were coming off the bus i began to talk to people and then not long after that um they would and quite a few of them do the you know this gesture he got so swept up in the Trump world michael spent the past decade documenting the Donald and was even invited by the president to dinner well I I mean Mara Lago is its own weird place uh a kind of an extraordinary salt on your eyes and on and on good taste it was there Michael first met Melania it was kind of like a wedding table um which is to say that they’re you know it’s just a steady progression of people coming up to them and Melania is is a kind of in a state of heightened graciousness perhaps so it’s all Yes thank you thank you oh that’s so nice oh oh oh yes i I mean I’m sitting in the middle of this thinking “Oh my god.” Um I have really gone down the rabbit hole in three words how would you sum up Melania Trump opportunistic calculated transactional that doesn’t sound like a very nice person uh she’s married to Donald Trump it’s been nearly 30 years since the president and his wife first locked eyes in a New York club donald freshly separated from his second wife was the charismatic star of a hit TV reality show and Melania the beautiful model making it in the Big Apple you spin baby [Applause] i went crazy i said I was actually supposed to meet somebody else and there was this great supermodel sitting next to Melania and I was supposed to meet the supermodel and they were saying “Look there’s so and so.” I said “Forget about her who’s the one on the left?” And it was Melanie did you like him right away it was a great chemistry and energy we had you know great time he we start to talk and you know it was something was there right away author Kate Bennett has written a book about the first lady and says back then it was a match made in heaven i think she was really drawn in by his magnetism his celebrity his wealth his connections the president of the United States and first lady Melania Trump accompanied by the Easter Bunny while her property tycoon husband long harbored political ambitions being the first lady wasn’t a job Melania ever aspired to nor was the salacious model from Slovenia what the American public had in mind either i think she likes the sort of accuchal that come with it but um did she ever see herself as first lady of the United States no no but with public office comes great scrutiny and in the grubby world of politics it was only a matter of time before the dirt was dug up on the Donald first a leaked audio recording i did try and her she was married huge news there you can do anything whatever you want grab him by the followed by allegations of his infidelity with a porn star we’re going to begin though with that new scandal rocking the White House stormmy Daniels stormmy Daniels he can deny it all he wants if I was going to lie about having sex with someone famous Brad Pitt here we go you know I would pick somebody way less embarrassing than Donald Trump the infidelities it’s a tough road you know for anybody to navigate that in a marriage what about for Melania i mean two things can be true she knew who she married right she wasn’t marrying a saint she knows the guy is not known for his monogamy right did she think that their private marital issues would be so publicly divulged absolutely not and I think that was crippling for her and understandably is it to the point that she left him no was it to the point that she was real angry with him absolutely in the days that followed the allegations Bologania’s absence said everything she cancelled plans to travel with her husband to the World Economic Forum in Davos then arrived at the State of the Union address separately all of this raising speculation about the state of the first couple’s marriage melania Trump was asked many times “Sit by him stand by him defend him support him throughout several scandals and she opted not to.” Uh and I think whether it’s anticipated or expected you have to sort of give her credit for not pinning on that awkward smile um and and standing up for something or or defending something that she really didn’t feel like defending scandal continued to haunt the couple throughout Trump’s second presidential campaign when last year he was found guilty of falsifying business records in an attempt to silence Stormmy Daniels with hush money if you are a politician and you have legal difficulties if you have to appear in court is that your wife appears beside you never once was she there um and I you know I know that at one point one of the Trump aids went to her and said you know stand by your man this would be be really good um and she said um she laughed and she said nice try from the courtroom to the campaign trail and now in the corridors of power it seems the first lady’s cold shoulder is still as frosty today where is she people are wondering where is their American first lady that’s a that’s the real question for Michael the answer is simple are they a couple very clearly and um and demonstrabably they are not together if together means actually being in the same physical space coming up is Melania done with Donald during the first White House she wasn’t there during this White House she’s not there where is Melania this is a significant question in American politics trying to find my way you know what they say you realize it’s easier to do it alone trying to unravel the mystery that is Melania Trump was a full-time job for Kate Bennett the former CNN reporter covered her rise to the White House the first time around melania 2.0 what’s different well I think this time the question is where is she it’s like the silence is almost deafening isn’t it completely i mean that’s really both the allure and the intrigue and also the criticism of her melania has barely been seen by Donald Trump’s side since January when the first lady stole the show at her husband’s second inauguration with this eye-catching ensemble if you don’t control your borders kate says it was much more than just a fashion statement i mean this doesn’t scream light-hearted i’m so happy we’re back in Washington thank you voters for reelecting my husband in my opinion certainly doesn’t yeah right it’s not approachable and I think it’s keep away from me you know he couldn’t lean in for the cheek kiss um it’s really it’s it’s fascinating oh her neck is covered her her shoulders are are very strong and um you know she could be rolling her eyes all day long we wouldn’t know because they’re hidden kate says the key to understanding Melania Trump is through what she wears and when how could we forget the pink bow blouse it’s called a bow blouse right after the Access Hollywood interview that leaked with with her husband saying grab him by the pee right she chose to wear a hot pink blow blouse which you know she would say to you it’s just was a nice you know color i like the style or whatever but everything she does you have to read into it’s her way of speaking by not using her voice she’s also then the white suit worn by Melania not long after the Stormmy Daniels affair broke this was after a particularly rough period in the headlines about Stormmy Daniels and people were wondering what she was thinking and feeling and of course she was very private and didn’t say anything but it’s the hat that day everyone noticed the hat and she kept all eyes on her and at the same time she’s telling the American public I’m still here i’m okay uh I’m going to make a statement i’m not going to fade into the background i’m going to I’m going to be noticed so any of her outfits none of them are a coincidence i don’t believe in coincidences when it comes to Melania Trump so what message is Melania sending by choosing not to live at the White House full time if you ask Anita McBride an expert on first ladies and their legacies Melania Trump is a trailblazer anita have you ever seen a first lady like Melania Trump no she is definitely precedent setting as the former chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush Anita says Melania is just a modern-day mom doing a traditional role on her own terms how would you describe her confident self assured strong do you think she should be spending more time in the White House i think the times that she is there are the times that are important i think the one way to look at it is it can be quality over quantity during the first White House she wasn’t there during this White House she’s not there where is Melania this is a significant question in American politics controversial author Michael Wolf isn’t so forgiving and insists the truth surrounding Melania’s whereabouts is being covered up by the White House these are two people who live separate lives everything is separate they are not together there’s a difference though isn’t there between living separately and being separated well I you you tell me what the difference is there well you can choose to live in in different parts of the country or you could not be a couple i mean that’s the big question here are they a couple well yeah see that’s the problem they don’t live together they are never together and yes there are marriages in which that is true has it ever been true in the White House no why do you think Melania stays with Donald well I I I think it probably works for her just fine i mean I I think that she lives the life that she wants you know she lives the life of a very wealthy woman there are some reports that they have separated they’re virtually separated what do you think well you know what i I think that I don’t know if that’s true i think it’s a marriage that works for them maybe it’s not your definition of you know of a happy marriage maybe it might not be mine but it’s certainly theirs and whether she’s in New York and he’s here or she’s in Florida and he’s in New York their life is working pretty well for them uh so I think any attempt to try and say they’re unhappy or behind that they’re apart from each other all the time i think that’s a lot of wasted words i really do the White House disputes your claims they you know they they call you a blithering idiot an imbecile what do you say to that well you know somebody before they released that statement somebody I know in the White House uh uh called me and said “Are you okay with being called blithering?” You say they checked that statement with you well this is all I mean it was sort of like it was a sort of like a courtesy call we’re going to call you blithering they didn’t deny anything it was just you’re a blithering idiot they called you names instead uh yeah it was you know your your old-fashioned non-denial denial we sought our own statement from the office of the first lady they refused to answer any of the questions we asked instead they hit back with this blistering response it is unprofessional and irresponsible for 60 Minutes Australia to tarnish and defame the reputation of the first lady of the United States the details of Mrs trump’s personal life and family should be respected as private one must consider the potential harm caused by creating unfounded narratives solely to garner clicks whatever the truth is about their relationship there is one thing Melania still has in common with her husband and that is getting even richer from a new book writing this memoir has been a deeply personal and reflective journey for me to her own cryptocurrency and signing a $60 million documentary deal i believe it is important to share my perspective the truth she’s a first lady using the power of a public office to self-promote and increase her private wealth anita McBride says while it’s not illegal it is unheard of this is certainly a different chapter isn’t it yes it is the uh the items that you know both Trumps uh sell with their likeness um and in their name that is something you know we haven’t seen before she’s now into cryptocurrency and so is he thoughts for me personally i think those things should be left to when you leave the public eye that’s my personal um view for Michael Wolf it’s just another scandal in a show that’s barely even started what do you think the next four years are going to look like what you see is what you get this is so patently like the marriage itself there’s no pretense this is what the country elected we we are in a whole a whole as I say different reality hello I’m Dimit Clancy thanks for watching 60 Minutes Australia subscribe to our channel now for brand new stories and exclusive clips every week and don’t miss out on our extra minute segments and full episodes of 60 Minutes on 9now.com.au and the N Now app

Melania Trump is practically invisible from the public eye these days, and it is fuelling speculations about the status of her marriage with the President.

*The Invisible Lady (2025)*
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