Melania Trump Predicts She Will Be ‘Like Jackie Kennedy’ As First Lady, In A Resurfaced Interview From 1999
Nearly two decades before she moved into the White House, Melania Trump already knew what she would be like as First Lady.
An interview with the future Mrs. Donald Trump filmed in 1999 has resurfaced, showing Melania imagining what life would be like if her husband became president and she was First Lady. As the Daily Mail noted, Melania predicted that she would be very traditional, comparing herself to Jackie Kennedy.
Speaking with ABC News correspondent Don Dahler, the 26-year-old Melania Knauss said she thought of herself as being like some of the most iconic First Ladies.
“I would be very traditional, like Jackie Kennedy and Betty Ford,” Melania said.
She also envisioned herself as an asset to help Donald Trump.
“I would support him,” Melania said of her then-boyfriend. “I will do a lot of social obligations.”
At the time the interview was filmed, Melania and Donald had just started dating. They would be married six years later. Donald Trump had already made his presidential aspirations clear by that point, launching an unsuccessful presidential bid in 2000 and flirting with running in 2012 before finally launching a full-scale bid in 2016, ultimately pulling off one of the biggest surprise victories in the nation’s history.
In her 1999 interview, Melania was apparently ready to address some of the most pertinent issues of 2016 and beyond. When asked if she had a problem with Donald’s reputation as something of a playboy, Melania did not seem to mind.
“It’s a man thing, and sometimes I find it very cute,” she said.
She would later maintain that mindset in 2016, referring to the infamous Access Hollywood tape as “boy talk” and hinting that Donald was “egged on” to make remarks about sexually assaulting women. More recently, she has downplayed the reports that Donald had an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels shortly after Melania gave birth to the couple’s son, saying the allegations were “not concern” for her.
Melania has lived up to her other prediction as well. Though she largely remained behind the scenes at the White House during her first year and a half living there, Melania has since adopted a public presence, and recently made her first solo trip abroad, a tour of Africa to see humanitarian programs receiving American aid.
First lady Melania Trump's favorability is back up, according to a new CNN poll https://t.co/QoxkH1sRf5 pic.twitter.com/uVTTzq4kS6
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 14, 2018
As the Daily Mail noted, Melania Trump already does have one thing in common with Jackie Kennedy — both were known for standing by their husbands amid rumors of extramarital affairs.
