THere's something almost poignant about Donald Trump's tweets expressing support for his wife Melania on the occasion of the publication of her memoir this week. On Tuesday, the former president posted an X in which he wrote that he was “very proud of Melania!”, who is described in the book's advertising materials as Trump's “tire and foundation”. I know it's inappropriate to attribute ordinary human reactions to either Trump, but watching the activities around the book this week, it was hard not to wonder if the couple's pantomime exaggeration had caused either of them the slightest twinge of regret for faking a loving relationship.
I mean, no, right? On the other hand, who knows? The comedy and drama surrounding Melania's premiere are not revelations – there are none outside of Melania's revelations in a likely calculated reveal about her stance on abortion – but rather a spectacle in which the former first lady answers questions about a man she, by definition, cannot bear. While American reviewers mocked the book's focus on Melania's various business ventures – The Washington Post picked up “a liquid day serum, Luxe Night with vitamins A and E, a cleansing balm and an exfoliating scrub, all priced from $50 to $150 ” mockery – and bitterness over her treatment by the “news media”, the author herself appeared on a series of Fox News programs to publicly support her husband's re-election bid.
It was, it must be said, a very special form of support, given in Melania's stiff, expressionless style, which only softened when she mentioned her son Barron. When asked if she was concerned about her husband's safety, on a Fox panel on The Five, Melania replied, “Of course I am,” without further elaboration. It was previously said that one of her husband's strengths is that he “looked after the military and I loved visiting them all over the world, even when I was in Iraq. And also when I visited a plane in the middle of the ocean.”
Speaking to Maria Bartiromo on a separate Fox show, Melania said, “Achieving great success is important,” and referred viewers to her website, where you can purchase, among other things, a beautiful “Vote Freedom” necklace “which features the iconic Lady Liberty” for $175 or something from her limited edition Ornament series that reads “Merry Christmas, AMERICA!” It sounds like the title of an episode of South Park, but it's actually a series of Christmas decorations and “digital collectibles” that shine very brightly against the backdrop of Melania's 2019 statement, when she was secretly recorded by an aide saying, “Who cares about Christmas things and decorations? But I have to do it.
But it was Melania's interview on Fox's next show with host Ainsley Earhardt that provided the most revealing insight into just how difficult this publicity tour was for her. Melania diligently discussed her comments about how her husband is “passionate about making America great again.” She complained about the “misinformation” around her and urged viewers to buy the book to “find out some things that have never been discussed.” And she described the press release she issued shortly before this year's Republican convention as her “I wrote a beautiful letter to America” moment. (In it, she called for unity because “our gentle nation is destroyed.”)
However, it was only when Earhardt asked Melania about the July 13 attack on her husband that it emerged that the former first lady was suffering from a serious medical condition. When asked how she reacted to the news that her husband had most likely been shot, Melania replied: “I ran to the TV, rewound it and… I guess something scared me, so I didn't really see 'live, live.' but maybe a few minutes later. But when I saw it, it was just that no one really knew yet. Because when you see him on the floor and you don't know what really happened.
There was a pause as Earhardt tried to process the comments and wait for more to come and what wasn't. So, after even less satisfying conversations about Trump's second failed assassination attempt, she asked, “Does this make you believe in a higher power more?” To which Melania replied that “the country really needs him”, to which a very dejected Earhardt muttered, “Maybe God will spare his life.” Samuel Beckett himself couldn't have come up with a more beautifully absurd exchange.
Meanwhile, the effect of watching these interviews was slightly chilling. Asked by a Fox journalist what she wanted Trump's critics to know about him, she replied with a bald face, a slight smile, bold as brass in the pursuit of her naked advantages: “that he really is a family man, he loves his family.”
It was a chilling moment that led to an interesting conclusion. If you watch enough of Melania's content, you start to believe that she is perhaps an even bigger cheater than her husband.
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Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist
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