Former first lady Melania Trump of the infamous “I don’t really care do u?” jacket has been dogged with rumors that she never enjoyed the White House life since before she even moved her bags to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave — in fact, her failure to pack up and move herself and son Barron Trump to Washington, D.C. until June of 2017 was read as the first steadfast sign that she wanted nothing to do with Donald Trump’s new political life. And yet, Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s new Trump tell-all book Peril includes a peek at Melania that’s very different from the steely persona she adopts for public speaking purposes, and certainly different from her rumored feelings on the D.C. gig throughout. Per Woodward and Costa, Melania was seen holding back tears as she and former president Trump made their White House goodbyes — and since for years, we’ve been hearing that Melania really hated D.C. and wanted out and didn’t sign up for this, it was fairly surprising to see how different her experience might have been after all.
“Trump, with First Lady Melania Trump, came down from the residence early on January 20. The staff of the White House — the cooks and butlers and housekeepers — waited for them shortly before 8 a.m. in the Diplomatic Reception Room…As the first couple entered, staff clapped and some shed tears as the president thanked them for their service and shook their hands.”
“Melania wore sunglasses,” the book continues. “Those who spoke with her and leaned in to bid farewell could see a hint of tears. ‘Give my love to Lo-Mari and the two girls,’ Melania told [Robert] O’Brien.”
Perhaps Melania was just overwhelmed from what had surely been an overwhelming January. But more likely, we’ll never know for sure how exactly Melania felt about her time in office unless she decides to tell us in unfiltered details — and with Donald Trump still not ruling out a 2024 run, we may have to wait a bit longer to get the unvarnished truth from his wife.
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