{"id":550968,"date":"2026-01-29T06:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T06:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/550968\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T06:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T06:40:11","slug":"melania-trumps-documentary-premieres-at-the-kennedy-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/550968\/","title":{"rendered":"Melania Trump’s documentary premieres at the Kennedy Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Melania Trump is capping her first year back as first lady with the global release of a documentary<\/a> she produced about the 20 days leading up to husband Donald Trump\u2019s return to the White House.<\/p>\n

\u201cMelania\u201d will premiere Thursday at the Kennedy Center, where the Trumps are expected to walk the red carpet before the film opens in theaters worldwide Friday. They hosted a similar viewing at the White House last Saturday.<\/p>\n

The first lady has said that she got the idea for the documentary after her husband won the 2024 election and that it will give viewers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at her life. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy new film, \u2018Melania,\u2019 provides a window into an important period for America, the 47th presidential inauguration,\u201d she said Wednesday before ringing the bell to open the New York Stock Exchange. \u201cFor the first time in history, people will witness the 20 days leading up to the inauguration, through the eyes of an incoming first lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

A private person, Melania Trump still remains a bit of a mystery to the public in her husband\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n

She said the film will show what it takes to step into the high-profile role as she juggles being a businessperson, a wife and a mother, as well as the coordinator of her family\u2019s move back to the Executive Mansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone wants to know. So here it is,\u201d she says in the trailer for the nearly two-hour film. <\/p>\n

\u2018Here we go again\u2019<\/p>\n

In another scene from the trailer, it is Inauguration Day and Melania Trump is inside the Capitol, waiting to be escorted into the Rotunda for the ceremony. She turns her head, looks directly into the camera that had been documenting her every move and says, \u201cHere we go again.\u201d<\/p>\n

She wrote in her self-titled memoir published in 2024 about how much she values her privacy. She is not as frequently seen or heard from as often as some of her recent predecessors, which may be influencing the public\u2019s perceptions of her. But she also likes to do things her way. <\/p>\n

The U.S. public is divided on their views of the first lady, but a significant number \u2014 about 4 in 10 adults \u2014 had no opinion or had not heard of her, according to a CNN poll from January 2025<\/a>. About 3 in 10 adults saw her favorably while roughly the same share had an unfavorable opinion.<\/p>\n

Her standing among Republicans was higher, with about 7 in 10 saying in the poll that they viewed her favorably, but around one-quarter did not have an opinion.<\/p>\n

Experts said the film could help improve perceptions of her. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s an attempt, in a way, to really augment or tailor or really refine her image for the American public,\u201d said Katherine Sibley, who teaches history at Saint Joseph\u2019s University in Philadelphia. \u201cShe\u2019s a mystery to the American people.\u201d <\/p>\n

First lady cites impactful first year of second Trump term<\/p>\n

Melania Trump, 55, said she\u2019s honored to execute the traditional duties of first lady, such as holding state dinners, hosting the annual Easter Egg Roll<\/a> and decorating for Christmas<\/a>. But she also has suggested she wants to leave her mark in other ways, too. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to impact Americans\u2019 lives,\u201d she said this week during an interview on Fox News Channel\u2019s \u201cFox & Friends.\u201d <\/p>\n

She spent chunks of time away from Washington last year working on the documentary and was deeply involved in every aspect of its development, according to Marc Beckman, her longtime senior adviser.<\/p>\n

The well-being and safety of children remains one of her top priorities, and she has used her influence to lobby Congress to pass the \u201cTake It Down Act,\u201d making it a federal crime to publish intimate images online without consent. The president signed the bill into law and had her sign it, too.<\/p>\n

Her advocacy for foster children was enshrined in an executive order creating a \u201cFostering the Future\u201d program<\/a>. It\u2019s part of the \u201cBe Best\u201d child-focused initiative<\/a> she launched in the first term.<\/p>\n

She also wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin<\/a> last year for help reuniting children who had been separated from their families because of his war against Ukraine. She had her husband hand-deliver the letter when the leaders met in Alaska, and she later announced that eight children had been reunited with their families.<\/p>\n

The first lady accompanied the president on visits to disaster zones, where she helped console victims. She has taken a prominent role in the administration\u2019s efforts on artificial intelligence and education and launched a global version of the foster child program. <\/p>\n

She told guests at a White House Christmas reception that she is working on a new legislative effort for 2026, but has not yet shared details. <\/p>\n

\u2018Melania\u2019 more than a year in the making<\/p>\n

It was unclear how much money Melania Trump stands to earn or what her plans are for any film proceeds. Experts said it was unusual for a first lady to pursue a project of this kind from the White House \u2014 but not unusual for the Trumps.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as I know, she\u2019s the first first lady to be paid a lot of money to have a documentary made about her and it is unprecedented in terms of the Trumps because they are always breaking precedent,\u201d said Katherine Jellison, professor emerita of history at Ohio University.<\/p>\n

Presidents and first ladies generally refrain from pursuing outside business ventures while in office to avoid potential conflicts of interest or raising ethical concerns.<\/p>\n

Both Trumps participate in numerous business ventures, selling everything from watches, fragrances and Bibles for him to jewelry, Christmas ornaments and digital collectibles for her. <\/p>\n

The movie also marks another link between the Trumps and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has worked to improve a once-tense relationship with the president. The documentary, which was produced by AmazonMGM Studios and is said to have cost $40 million, will stream exclusively on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service after its theatrical run.<\/p>\n

Amazon has declined to comment on the financial arrangements. <\/p>\n

The film was set for release in approximately 1,600 screens worldwide on Friday, including about 1,500 in the United States. The premiere is to be simulcast in 21 theaters nationwide for invited guests on Thursday to help build excitement for the launch.<\/p>\n

The movie is the first project by director Brett Ratner since he was accused of sexual misconduct in the early days of the #MeToo reckoning. Ratner\u2019s lawyer has denied the allegations.<\/p>\n

He shares producer credits with the first lady, Beckman and Fernando Sulichin of New Element Media. Filming began in December 2024.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Melania Trump is capping her first year back as first lady with the global release…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":550969,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[2122,191830,12785,84,434,69,171,241815,57,2055,4061,241813,241814,57119,13754,241816,53,80,235115,61,67,132,68,274,93],"class_list":{"0":"post-550968","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-arts-and-entertainment","9":"tag-brett-ratner","10":"tag-dc-wire","11":"tag-district-of-columbia","12":"tag-documentaries","13":"tag-donald-trump","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-fernando-sulichin","16":"tag-general-news","17":"tag-government-and-politics","18":"tag-jeff-bezos","19":"tag-katherine-sibley","20":"tag-marc-beckman","21":"tag-media-and-entertainment-industry","22":"tag-melania-trump","23":"tag-melania-trump-movie","24":"tag-movies","25":"tag-politics","26":"tag-send-to-apple-news","27":"tag-u-s-news","28":"tag-united-states","29":"tag-unitedstates","30":"tag-us","31":"tag-vladimir-putin","32":"tag-washington-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115977022688881275","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}