With President-elect Donald Trump’s White House return just one week away, winds of change are coming to Washington, D.C.
Soon-to-be first lady Melania Trump is ready to dive back into the role she occupied between 2016 and 2020, more experienced with the process and eager to expand her “Be Best” initiative this time. She discussed the Trump transition and how she offers advice to her husband in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Ainsley Earhardt.
“I feel I was always me the first time as well. I just feel that people didn’t accept me. Maybe they didn’t understand me the way maybe they do now, and I didn’t have much support,” she said.
“Maybe some people, they see me as just the wife of the president, but I’m standing on my own two feet, independent. I have my own thoughts. I have my own ‘yes and no.’ I don’t always agree with [what] my husband is saying or doing, and that’s okay.”
“I give him my advice. And sometimes he listens. Sometimes he doesn’t. And that’s okay,” she added.
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Melania’s “Be Best” initiative, which focuses on youth well-being and advocating against cyberbullying, became an integral part of her identity as first lady during the first Trump term.
She plans to “continue” and “expand” the program, citing the challenges she faced the first time around.
“I didn’t have much support from anyone. I invited all of the streaming platforms to the White House. I had the roundtable, and I didn’t have much support from them. And imagine what we could do in those years if they will rally behind me and teach the children and protect them about social media and their mental health.”
A behind-the-scenes Amazon Prime documentary detailing the incoming first lady’s life will hit theaters and the streaming platform later this year, the company said in a statement. The feature follows on the heels of her successful memoir “Melania,” which topped bestsellers lists after hitting bookstore shelves last October.
“It’s an exciting time,” Melania said.
Trump will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, becoming the only president aside from Grover Cleveland to serve two non-consecutive terms. Melania said stepping into the first lady role will be easier this time, having the experience from her husband’s first term already under her belt.
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“I know where I’m going. I know the rooms where we’ve been living. I know the process. The first time was challenging. We didn’t have much of the information. The information was upheld for us from [the] previous administration. But this time I have everything.”
With the transition team given five hours to move out the Bidens and move in the Trumps, “everything needs to be planned to the minute,” she explained. For Melania, the changing of the guard means packing, establishing her team and turning the White House into her home again.
Since President Biden and first lady Jill Biden took the reins on Jan. 20, 2021, the Trump family have had their lives turned upside down – prosecutions, assassination attempts and another run on the campaign trail to name a few.
Trump emerged victorious over Vice President Kamala Harris last November, sweeping all key swing states and raking in 312 electoral votes. Now, the plan for his first 100 days in office remains front and center – focusing on taxes, immigration and inflation.
“I think it will be an exciting four years, and we have a lot to do and put the country back in shape,” Melania said.
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