Washington:
Melania Trump indicated she plans to live primarily in the White House when she returns to Washington as first lady next Monday, putting to rest speculation that she could split time between other residences.
When Donald Trump first took office in 2017, his wife did not immediately join him at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but remained in New York until their then 11-year-old son Barron finished the school year.
“I will be in the White House,” Melania Trump told the “Fox & Friends” program in an interview that aired Monday. “And if I have to be in New York, I’ll be in New York. And if I have to be in Palm Beach, I’ll be in Palm Beach.”
The Trumps are known to live in their lavish Manhattan apartment in Trump Tower, as well as at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Melania Trump was notably absent from Donald Trump’s side for much of the 2024 campaign, as well as during his trial in New York, in which he was convicted of 34 crimes.
But she boosted her public profile as the campaign ended and Trump emerged victorious.
Once again as first lady, Melania Trump says she plans to ramp up her “Be Best” campaign for child welfare, a somewhat ill-defined cause she promoted only sporadically during her husband’s first term.
“I will continue Be Best and expand Be Best as well,” she told the Fox program.
She will also release a film about herself, following the October publication of her remarkably secretive memoir “Melania.”
She said the idea of making a film about her daily life and returning to the White House was her own.
“My life is incredible, it’s incredibly busy, and I said to my agent, you know I have this idea, so please go out and make a deal for me.”
Upon her return to the role, Melania Trump said her top priorities are “being a mother, being first lady, being a wife.”
Barron, who is now studying in New York, will “be visiting,” she added.
But the White House will otherwise be occupied only by the couple.
“Maybe some people just see me as the president’s wife, but I stand on my own two feet, independently,” Melania Trump said, adding, “I don’t always agree with what my husband says or does.”
“I give him my advice, and sometimes he listens, sometimes he doesn’t, and that’s OK.”
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