It happens I’m currently teaching a course (locally) based on the first book I ever wrote. In my many years of teaching I’ve never taught All the President’s Kin: Their Political Roles. But somehow, I thought it time to revive the subject – that is, the subject of how important political roles have been played in the modern presidency by various members of president’s families. (Think, for example, of Jared Kushner, son in law of the incumbent president.) In fact, since the time of President John Kennedy, so important have these roles been that we can say that no presidency since his has been without one or another family member playing a critical part either during the presidential campaign, or during the president’s tenure in the White House, or both.
Imagine my astonishment when within an hour or two of concluding yesterday’s class I learned that while we were in session First Lady Melania Trump had made an unannounced but nevertheless formal, televised, and scripted appearance from a podium in the White House, apparently for the sole purpose of denying anything more than “casual” ties to Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. What motivated the president’s wife to make this statement in this way at this time, I cannot say. I can, however, say that up to now no First Lady has ever felt the need to deny that she was “a victim” of a convicted sex offender.
By and large America’s First Ladies have carried out whatever their vague duties capably and honorably. Moreover, in the modern presidency presidents’ wives have been highly visible, closely scrutinized, and expected to perform impeccably both stylistically and substantively.
The ways in which they served the country have varied widely, of course. Jacqueline Kennedy was an altogether different sort of First Lady from Rosalynn Carter, as was Lady Bird Johnson from Patricia Nixon from Hillary Clinton. Some, I might add, derived their powerful political clout from their exceedingly close relationships with their husbands – such as Mrs. Carter and Nancy Reagan. Others were somewhat more distant from the president but nevertheless had a significant and generally positive impact, for instance, Barbara Bush.
Moreover, nearly all modern First Ladies have been highly popular with the American people. Nearly all have ranked among the most widely admired women in the United States, and nearly all were thought well of in their position. In 2005, for example, Gallup reported that fully 85% of the American people approved of the way Laura Bush was doing her job.
Which brings us to Melania Trump – whose approval ratings are, let’s not mince words, terrible. CNN data expert, Harry Enten, put it bluntly when he said this week that based on a survey conducted in late March, her numbers were “absolutely awful.” Melania Trump, he went on, “is breaking records in ways you don’t want to break records,” adding that “the American people really don’t care for her.” To add to her humiliation, the recent movie that was all about her, and only about her, titled, cleverly, “Melania,” has widely been seen as both a critical and commercial fiasco. (The film cost some $75 million to make and market and so far, has earned back a scant $17 million.)
Every First Lady from Jacqueline Kennedy to Jill Biden has performed some sort of function and therefore has had some sort of impact. In some cases, this impact was domestic, for example, Mrs. Kennedy was known to have been a superb White House hostess who held glittering events that brought together people with different political views and from all walks of life. In other cases, this impact was relational, for example, Mrs. Reagan was so close to her husband that he and she were effectively one. Nancy was her Ronnie’s political as well as personal mainstay, his alter ego. In still other cases this impact was civic or philanthropic, for example, in the case of Mrs. Johnson and Barbara Bush. And in still other cases First Ladies were barrier breakers – examples are Hillary Clinton, a major political force in her own right; and Michelle Obama who, by her own testimony with some difficulty, broke the racial barrier.
Melania Trump has been none of these things. Intensely private, even secretive, she is not known for having made even a single significant civic or philanthropic contribution either during her first term in the White House or now, during her second. Further, she appears to have a marriage in which husband and wife go their separate ways, so that if she provides the president with support of any kind, even as a modest ballast, we the American people are unaware of it.
Melania Trump is a beautiful woman who is invariably immaculately turned out. But she is rarely seen and nearly never heard. Moreover, what she cares about is as opaque today as it was when Donald Trump first came to our collective attention. If Mrs. Trump has ever contributed anything positive to the national conversation or to our collective welfare, it remains a well-kept secret. Of course, she still might. But time is running out. Her days in the White House, like those of her husband, are numbered.