Although she checked the trial, says a source familiar with her level of interest, the former first lady mentally almost left Washington behind, unlike her husband.
According to several people who have spoken to CNN about Trump’s life in the weeks since he left the nation’s capital, his daily schedule has nothing to do with politics, Congress, trials or blocked social media accounts.
“She goes to the spa, has lunch, goes to the spa (again) and dines with Donald on the patio,” said a person familiar with Melania Trump’s schedule at Mar-a-Lago, her home in Palm Beach, Florida. “Rinse and repeat. Every day.”
Another person familiar with her daily routine confirms Trump’s affinity for the private club’s spa facilities, noting that it is not uncommon for her to spend several hours a day there, enjoying the benefits at her disposal, often going twice in one period. 24 hours, for massages, manicures, facials or other menu items.
“She almost always dines,” said a third person who saw Trump outside the spa. She spends her nights in the outdoor patio of Mar-a-Lago, where she prefers to fish as a starter, according to the source, and often joins the table with her parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, who reside in a private suite of rooms in Mar -a-Lago for much of the year.
Although she is now a former first lady of the United States, her daily routine has not changed significantly.
“It’s pretty much the same as before (she was the first lady) or even when she came down during the holidays,” said the source familiar with Trump’s schedule, noting that there is not much evidence to outline pre- and post-White House activities or work.
Melania Trump’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN.
Moments of bitterness
However, there were times of bitterness and regret, say several people with knowledge of Trump’s conversations recently, mainly since Joe Biden took office and with respect to the activities of his successor, Jill Biden.
At one time, at the beginning of his tenure, this was not the case – Melania Trump was the most beloved member of the Trump family and administration in general. But it is possible that Donald Trump’s incendiary style, while not necessarily something his wife tolerated, had the residual effect of reducing the popularity of the first lady. After the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Melania Trump did not make a statement denouncing the violence for five days.
“She could see how things would go for her,” said a former White House official who spoke to CNN, noting that Trump felt she was in a lost situation, whether she spoke publicly or not. If she condemned the violence, her husband and her base would be furious and create a stir about her breaking up with the president. And by staying silent, she was suggesting support for what happened.
“After (the insurrection) happened, she knew there was nothing to be gained by talking or doing anything – so she did nothing,” said the former White House official.
Two members of the First Lady’s team resigned shortly after the deadly uprising, in protest at the government’s apparent acquiescence.
Trump, according to a person familiar with his schedule, planned to go into Biden’s possession and knew she would not attend when her husband tweeted that he would not.
Disappointed with the way she left Washington, she was “bitter and cold” at times with her husband, upset because her image became collateral damage in her quest to denounce the election and obtain a peaceful transfer of power, two of the familiar people with your last minute thinking.
But Trump’s most fervent ire came from watching Jill Biden kick off his east wing tenure almost antithetical to the path Trump took. Biden immediately moved to the White House to begin, and had a team hired and reinforced two weeks after taking office. Trump, meanwhile, stayed in New York for the first five months of the administration, apparently to let his son Barron finish the school year; she never had more than 12 people on her White House team, sometimes there were only seven. (Jill Biden already has nearly a dozen full-time employees and is expected to add more.)
Although Melania Trump left a welcome note for Biden at the Executive Residence, she has not yet spoken to her, avoiding a long-standing tradition of first ladies.
Trump also noticed the publicity his successor got.
A few weeks after becoming the first lady, Biden gave an interview to People magazine, decorating the cover with her husband, the new president, and was featured in Parents magazine, where she discussed her empathy for families dealing with education at your children’s home during the pandemic. Bidens also appeared in a televised message that aired before last Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Jill Biden has held at least seven events or lectures since becoming the first lady, on topics including military families, cancer prevention, health, community college education and teacher support. Before leaving Washington on January 20, Melania Trump was not seen publicly for three weeks and did not hold a solo public event for six weeks – a schedule not entirely unusual for the former first lady, who chose to keep a less robust schedule , said his team, to provide more focus on being a wife and mother.
Advertising
The attention Biden has received has not gone unnoticed by Trump, say those who know her. Although she is lamenting the media’s focus on her successor, Trump declined several similar offers from national publications during her time as first lady, according to two people who worked closely with her. Upon receiving offers and asking for participation, it was Trump who did not want to make them.
In four years, she never gave an interview to a national publication.
“Donald was more upset that Melania couldn’t get magazine covers than Melania,” said Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who served as Trump’s senior adviser during his first months as first lady before the relationship went south.
On Christmas Day, then President Trump retweeted a conservative media tweet pointing to the lack of magazine covers, citing “elitist snobs in the fashion press”. Trump called his wife “the greatest of all time”.
Laura Bush appeared in at least six magazines during her two terms as first lady and Michelle Obama more than doubled.
Wolkoff told CNN that it was not that the country was not interested in reading about Trump, but that the fiercely reserved first lady was not interested in letting the public know her.
“Melania intentionally did not apply pressure as a defense mechanism,” said Wolkoff, who wrote about his experiences with Trump in his book, “Melania & Me: The rise and fall of my friendship with the First Lady.” “She and I always discussed this reasoning, which is why everything was choreographed or emailed, or it was ‘approved’ quotes or statements that I used to write.”
The lack of interest in sitting down for an interview, for privacy and concern about what could be asked and demand an answer, was for Trump a primary strategy, according to Wolkoff. Now Trump, according to several people familiar with his thinking, is questioning this tactic.
But the former first lady is not blaming herself in retrospect, she is blaming others – former employees, magazine editors and companies and foundations who chose not to work with her because of the former president’s political rhetoric. Trump has recently noticed acquaintances that she thinks she could have participated in more media opportunities and political events if her team had been more receptive to her needs.
“This seems unfair, but typical to blame everyone else,” said someone familiar with Trump’s thinking during his years at the White House. “Everyone knows that Melania Trump does what she wants, when she wants, and no member of her team could have done anything to change that.”