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“She Didn’t Want This Come Hell or High Water’’: Inside Melania Trump’s Secretive East Wing

Understanding the most enigmatic First Lady—and unusual marriage—in modern political history.”

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/flotus-melania-trump-east-wing-first-lady

“In 2014, Trump was even more serious, and in the end he consulted one of his most discreet advisers—his wife, Melania. “She was very clearly the one who said, ‘Either run or don’t run,’ ” Stone explained. He went on, paraphrasing Melania: “ ‘Your friends are tired of this striptease. Every four years you talk about it.’ ”

“Trump’s associates told me that it was Ivana, not Donald, who was the brains behind the operation. “I was too successful to be Mrs. Trump,” Ivana writes in her book. “In our marriage, there couldn’t be two stars. So one of us had to go.”... Ivana scoffed, “Yes, but the problem is, what is he going to do with his third wife? She can’t talk, she can’t give a speech, she doesn’t go to events, she doesn’t seem to want to be involved.”

“Three former Obama staffers told me that the permanent staff of the White House adores the First Lady. Part of the affection may be due to the fact that, unlike the Obamas, Melania is accustomed to dealing with a staff. She also seems genuinely thoughtful in her everyday interactions with them.”

“For Melania Trump, the cause of choice is—improbably—cyberbullying. It has become almost too easy to point out the irony, given her husband’s habit of using Twitter to bully not only political opponents but also members of his own party and even his own Cabinet. Cyberbullying cannot have been Donald Trump’s idea. It’s unlikely but possible that she chose the cause by way of trolling her own husband. (“Wouldn’t that be great?” one former Obama adviser commented.)”

Long, but interesting read.