Four Times Melania and Donald Trump Disagreed at the White House, per This New Book

Four Times Melania and Donald Trump Disagreed at the White House

New York Times White House correspondent Katie Rogers' latest book, American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden, is dropping truth bombs. However, the book also provides its readers with some of the unknown conversations that took place between the controversial former POTUS, Donald Trump and his wife, Melania. Drawing from interviews with numerous sources close to the Trumps, as well as former staffers, Rogers meticulously details the various areas of disagreement between Melania and Donald. These range from preferences on which television channel to watch, to differing approaches on how to respond to national tragedies. Here's looking into the four instances when the former President had disagreements with the former first lady.

1. The CNN Versus Fox News Debate 

In American Woman, Rogers highlights Melania's engagement with news at the White House. Unlike her husband, Melania favored CNN as her primary cable news channel, watching it avidly while Donald preferred Fox News. However, their differing media preferences caused friction for the couple in July 2018 when Donald was reportedly miffed to find Melania watching CNN aboard Air Force One during an overseas trip. According to Rogers, Trump was furious to find his wife's television choice. Subsequently, per People, he ordered that all TVs on Air Force One and in their hotel suites be switched to Fox News. However, Trump's relationship with Fox News deteriorated later in his presidency, especially following the network's accurate call of Arizona for Joe Biden during the 2020 election. 

2. On Renovating the White House 

During the early days of the Trump presidency, while Melania resided in New York with her son Barron, she took on the task of selecting furniture for the White House residence, a customary duty for many first ladies. However, her choices clashed with her husband's preference for opulent, flashy décor, leading him to replace several pieces with ones he preferred, as detailed by Rogers. To signal this sentiment to the public, the first lady turned to Twitter, sharing a view of the Washington Monument from within the White House, accompanied by the message, "Looking forward to the memories we’ll make in our new home!" Not much is known of the conflict of interest of the couple, however it was evident that the two had clashing choices. 

3. Over Crisis Management and Solutions

Melania barely commented on political matters when Trump was the President. Her style has been rather covert and in many situations supportive of her husband. While Melania's tweets were seen as small gestures by Rogers, they distinguished her from her husband's confrontational style. For instance, her decision to wear a jacket bearing the insensitive phrase "I Really Don't Care. Do U?" during a visit to a migrant detention center drew significant attention. According to Grisham, Trump reprimanded Melania and her team before deciding to attribute the jacket's message to a direct statement to the media. In instances where divisive issues arose during the Trump presidency, Melania often took a stance separate from her husband's, notes the author of the book. While the business mogul turned political leader offered public justifications for certain events, Melania swiftly denounced violence, expressing on Twitter, "Our country encourages freedom of speech, but let’s communicate w/o hate in our hearts. No good comes from violence," as reported by People. 

4. Response to Trump's Alleged Rashness

Melania's independence and differing perspectives from her husband have been evident, especially in how she has addressed—or chosen not to address—his scandals. Rogers highlighted a notable instance in late 2018 when adult film star Stormy Daniels alleged receiving $130,000 just before the 2016 election to conceal a sexual encounter with Trump from a decade earlier. The fiasco led to huge controversy during Trump's Presidential rule back then. However, during an overseas trip with her husband, Melania opted to retreat to Mar-a-Lago without him, as described by Rogers in the book. Stephanie Grisham, who was Melania's communications director back then, who also accompanied her on this trip, conveyed her intention to communicate her frustration to the president. Speaking to Rogers, Grisham explained, "I think she was pissed at Trump and wanted him to be a little humiliated that she took off."