Donald Trump Defends Melania Against Unflattering ‘Vanity Fair’ Article Claiming She Didn’t Want FLOTUS Job
Donald Trump has defended his wife, Melania, against an unflattering Vanity Fair article, becoming the latest in a long line of presidents who have publicly defended their wives against criticism, San Francisco Gate is reporting.
Citing an anonymous source, Vanity Fair wrote earlier this year that Melania is, at the very least, uncomfortable with her role as the first lady. Specifically, says the source, the first lady didn’t want the job “come hell or high water” and in fact, didn’t think it likely that Donald would win the election. Speaking of Donald winning the election, the source says that neither Donald nor Melania actually thought that would happen.
Ordinarily, Donald Trump can be counted on to come out swinging, so to speak, whenever he or someone in his inner circle is publicly criticized. But in this case, Vanity Fair reported the story in May, and Trump had been silent on it until now.
However, the first lady has been facing renewed criticism over the past couple of weeks, particularly in light of how she (or perhaps more accurately, the decorator she hired) chose to decorate the White House for Christmas. Eschewing the bright colors traditionally associated with the holiday, Mrs. Trump instead went for a more stark, minimalist interpretation.
The holidays are upon us!! Right now: flotus is seeing to every last detail here at the @WhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/TglHYDVUx1
— Stephanie Grisham (@StephGrisham45) November 27, 2017
The criticism over Melania’s Christmas decorating seems to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, as the saying goes.
“Melania, our great and very hard working First Lady, who truly loves what she is doing, always thought that ‘if you run, you will win. he would tell everyone that, ‘no doubt, he will win.’ I also felt I would win (or I would not have run) – and Country is doing great!”
Clearly, he’s referencing claims that neither he nor Melania wanted their respective jobs or even thought that they would get those jobs.
This would not be the first time he’s defended the first lady. Speaking to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Trinity Broadcasting Network, Trump said that Melania has “suffered tremendous abuse” since being the first lady.
“She’s taken tremendous abuse. She wants to look, out of respect for the White House, wants to look good leaving the front entrance to the White House. So she dresses up and she puts on formal shoes, high heels, and she leaves the White House going to Texas.”
Although Trump has a reputation for being defensive, it bears noting that he is not the first president who has publicly responded to criticism about his wife. Barbara Bush, for example, faced criticism from a group of college students who took exception to her having dropped out of college to get married, and George Sr. defended her. Similarly, Bill Clinton once threatened to “punch in the nose” a reporter who had called Hillary a liar.
