We have a dysfunctional family in the White House. Not that that is unique. The best of families have their stresses and strains and many’s a First Family that has had its share of tragedy. But it is a rare situation indeed where the woman who is known to be our First Lady is more like Gone Girl. If you study the photograph atop this piece, this was taken on April 26, which was Melania’s 55th birthday. As you see, Melania’s headed to a car to go who knows where and do who knows what, whereas Trump is headed for Marine One. This is the perfect encapsulation of that pair. She appears to be in a hurry, rushing to get away from Donald, and he waves almost absent mindedly. (Or maybe he’s waving to that non existent crowd that only he sees.) No pretense here. They had just been at Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome. Familiarity breeds contempt, eh what?
It’s a sticking point with Melania that even as First Lady, for the second time now, that she’s not taken seriously by the world of high fashion. Vogue Magazine did a review of her official portrait, a black and white number where she’s wearing a tuxedo and a cumberbund and aiming to project a business maven image. Vogue said she looked like an out of work free lance magician. Um…Mel? Don’t expect them to beg you to be on the cover anytime soon now.
And it goes without saying that the same people who intersect with high fashion patronize the Kennedy Center and a great many of them also support the Holocaust Museum. As well you know, Trump fired Doug Emhoff from the Board of the Holocaust Museum and Trump gutted the entire Kennedy Center board, filling it with Fox News talent, Vance’s wife, and himself as Chair. This level of insult will not be forgotten soon, if ever. The Kennedy Center has been around long enough to be a venerable institution and the classless, clueless Trump came along with a wrecking ball and laid waste to it. The Kennedy Center will rise again, of that I have no doubt, and don’t be surprised if it is with some bylaws and strictures that can protect itself from one such as Trump, should that occasion ever reoccur. The New York Times tells us about Greta Garbo as First Lady.
As the weeks pass by at the White House, the corner of the residence long used by first ladies remains dark, because this first lady does not really live in Washington.
Melania Trump vanishes from view for weeks at a time, holing up in Trump Tower in Manhattan or in Florida, where she can lie low at Mar-a-Lago. Administration officials say she is at the White House more often than the public knows, but when exactly, and for how long, these officials will not (or perhaps cannot) say for certain.
It’s like having Greta Garbo as first lady. […]
On April 1, she spoke at the State Department for the International Women of Courage awards, the first time she had been seen in public in Washington in weeks.
At the White House, the first lady has hired her own staff in the East Wing. But what to do when the boss doesn’t come into the office? “We were honored to welcome these curious, young gardeners to the White House this past week!” reads the caption of one recent video posted to the “FLOTUS” Instagram page.
But FLOTUS herself does not appear in the video. It’s not clear if she was even there.
Film crews have been spotted around Mrs. Trump lately. But for the most part, the Amazon documentary about her life is, like its subject, shrouded in mystery. Documentary filmmakers and Hollywood executives say that the $40 million that Amazon is reported to have paid for the documentary, which Mrs. Trump is executive producing, is tens of millions of dollars more than what such projects would ordinarily fetch. Amazon declined multiple requests for comment for this article, as did the film’s director, Brett Ratner.
I predict the Amazon “documentary” will be a real sleeper just as Melania’s biography was. How can it be otherwise? All that Melania has displayed a talent for is negotiating a high price for her presence, her likeness, her “brand.” And the simple fact of the matter is that a truly successful brand is built on something substantial. Flash in the pan popularity is not enough. Go ask Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex how that goes. She’s got a Netflix show where she arranges crudites and blows up balloons. We haven’t even seen that much effort, let alone personality, from Melania yet. And I suspect we won’t. But she’ll collect her money up front, of that I have no doubt. Money’s the name of this game, not public service.
[Photo Eric Lee, New York Times]
