On the eve of Donald J. Trump's inauguration, America's new first lady is making one thing perfectly clear: she will not settle for a small honor in this presidential sequel.
Melania seems determined to produce and direct her own leading role.
On Thursday, the infamous 57-year-old former model was photographed meeting with Queen Rania of Jordan at the Trumps' Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.
The old friends were reunited when a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was signed – the agreement was partly negotiated by the newly elected president's new regional envoy.
The photo, posted to the Queen's Instagram, showed the two drinking coffee and engaged in deep conversation. It makes you wonder if a documentary crew, which has been following Melania since November, was able to capture the content of their conversation.
Yes, the former and future first lady has reportedly signed a $40 million deal with billionaire Jeff Bezos' Amazon to produce a feature-length documentary and follow-up docuseries about her working life, complete with cameos from husband Donald and son Barron.
Melania is executive producer of the project. It is still unclear how much of the payday will end up in her wallet, but the amount is expected to be significant.
It's all quite a departure from Melania's first four years in the DC spotlight, when she hosted few public events, gave even fewer media interviews and largely stayed out of sight.
On the eve of Donald J. Trump's inauguration, America's new first lady is making one thing perfectly clear: she will not settle for a small honor in this presidential sequel.
On Thursday, the infamous 57-year-old former model was pictured meeting with Queen Rania of Jordan at the Trumps' Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.
The former and future first lady has reportedly signed a $40 million deal with billionaire Jeff Bezos' Amazon to produce a feature-length documentary and follow-up docuseries about her working life. (Barron, Donald and Melania pictured in 2019).
Behind this Melania 2.0, the Mail has been exclusively told, lies a new decision. Melania wants control and what she believes she deserves.
“Money is her number one priority,” said a source familiar with the first lady's thinking.
Melania famously spent her years between stints in the White House returning to the corporate world.
In December 2021, she sold NFTs – digital works of art collectively titled 'Melania's Vision' and retailing for $150. At least some of the proceeds reportedly went to children and teens leaving the foster care system.
The first lady has also been busy selling Christmas decorations and jewelry. And then there was her New York Times best-selling memoir of the same name, released in July, which she reportedly didn't get a big advance to write but will likely bring in healthy royalty payments.
“She has always wanted to be seen as a smart businesswoman,” the source said.
Well, smart is one word for it.
At one of the few 2024 presidential campaign events she attended, Melania reportedly took home a six-figure salary.
The payment was revealed in a financial disclosure form Trump filed in August. It revealed that Melania was paid $237,500 for a “speaking engagement” at a fundraiser for her husband held by the Log Cabin Republicans in April.
However, the person or entity that wrote the check remains a mystery. A spokesperson for the Log Cabin Republicans – a conservative LGBT group – told CNN that they did not pay her.
Ethics experts are surprised by the revelation.
'It seems quite selfish. From my own general observation, I'm not used to seeing that,” Virginia Canter, the chief ethics consultant at the nonpartisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics group, said at the time of the hefty payment.
The speculation that Melania will now try to capitalize on her second attempt at the White House undoubtedly raises questions of morality – but not necessarily legality.
Behind this Melania 2.0, the Mail has been exclusively told, lies a new decision. Melania wants control and what she thinks she deserves. (Melania, Barron and Donald are pictured on election night).
At one of the few 2024 presidential campaign events she attended, Melania reportedly took home a six-figure salary. (She is pictured speaking at the fundraiser held by the Log Cabin Republicans in April).
The Constitution's Emoluments Clause prohibits an elected federal official from profiting from his public position, but the first lady is an honorary position not mentioned in the Constitution or federal law.
“The ethics rules do not apply because that person is not a government official,” the Office of Government Ethics told the Mail.
When asked by Daily Mail in November, Melania's office did not respond that she plans to continue her professional activities after Inauguration Day, although she certainly would not be the first to do so.
First Lady Jill Biden taught at Northern Virginia Community College while in the White House. And Nancy Reagan, when she was first lady, received royalties from her previous film, television and radio work, which she donated to charity.
And there also seems to be another force that drives Melania. “She wants to have complete control over what people see,” the source said.
The first lady has long been recognized as someone with excellent self-control – now it seems she wants to be in charge of others.
As Melania interacted with the public during Trump's first term, her appearances often devolved into distracting PR blunders, not least during her visit to a detention center for migrant children in June 2018.
The fashion-forward first lady wore an army green jacket that read, “I really don't care. You too?' daubed with white paint on the back.
In the absence of an initial statement from Melania, critics interpreted the unique sartorial display as a veiled missive about her husband's controversial policy of separating the family at the border.
Months later – after much negative media coverage – Melania's spokesperson claimed that the jacket had no “hidden meaning.” But years later, Melania corrected the record in her memoir and said she sent a message anyway.
“I was determined…not to let the media's false narratives influence my mission to help the children and families at the border,” she wrote.
This complaint about false media reporting is one that Melania returns to regularly, and perhaps for good reason.
During Trump's first term, she was branded by critics as aloof and worse. At one point, internet trolls promoted a “Free Melania” movement, fueling the conspiracy that she was being held captive by her husband's political ambitions.
“The Trumps' biggest fear is bad press. They hate bad press. They are obsessed with it,” an insider told the Mail.
Now Melania is making it clear that this time will be different.
In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News on Monday, she spoke with extraordinary and atypical candor on the subject.
The fashion-forward first lady wore an army green jacket that read, “I really don't care. You too?' daubed with white paint on the back. (Melania was wearing the jacket in the photo in June 2018).
“I just feel like maybe people didn't accept me,” she said. 'I didn't get much support. Maybe some people just see me as the president's wife. But I stand on my own two feet. Independent.'
If there's one word to describe Melania in her second term, it's prepared.
“I would imagine she certainly feels like she knows the pitfalls better and what not to do,” said Dr. Katherine Jellison, a professor at Ohio University and an expert on first ladies.
“I know where I'm going,” Melania told Fox News. 'I know the rooms where we will live. I know the process.'
