Melania Trump isn’t exactly one to follow the path. Instead, the former model prefers breaking barriers and traditions and, in fact, resetting them in the most surprising ways. She doesn’t brag, but her silent presence is equally powerful and can bring down chaos within minutes.
In fact, when it comes to her role as First Lady of the United States, the Slovenian native has set a unique track record. While during Donald Trump’s first term, she was a more reserved and protocol-abiding, her husband’s second term at the White House has seen her evolve in ways unimaginable.
One of the first examples of her rather non-traditional approach began with her gaping absence from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. She stuck to occasional visits, no spotlight and staying miles away from the campaign trail. Her husband was even forced to do damage control over her absence, saying, “She’s a private person, a great person, a very confident person, and she loves our country very much.”
Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump wave during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York💪💪@Trump pic.twitter.com/b5W0rb8L73
— Nicole (@mixedgurltaytay) October 30, 2024
In 2018, Melania stunned onlookers when she arrived in a separate motorcade to the State of the Union address. It was right after news broke out that President Trump reportedly paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to hush up the past rendezvous. In response, the First Lady immediately backed out of a Switzerland trip and other official engagements. Her separate entry from her husband was, however, brushed off as an excuse for accompanying the guests.
Melania Trump at the State of the Union Address in Congress tonight. Most elegant first lady we’ve had since Mrs. Reagan. Michael Obama could never. #Trump pic.twitter.com/5uWbRqL9pK
— American Advocates Uncensored (@American_Advo) March 5, 2025
Adding on to the list of such bewildering moments happens to be Melania Trump’s tryst with Christmas. Back in 2017, she hosted it for the first time in the White House and ended up lining the East Colonnade with bare white branches. While her idea was to let those cast a shadow on the hall, it backfired royally.
In 2018, the public saw Melania deck out the same space with dark red trees, while in the next year, she simply had clear acrylic panels lined up. All of it was avant-garde, but Melania defended the criticisms, saying, “Everyone has a different taste.”
When it comes to fashion, the 55-year-old has stirred quite the headlines as well. While many First Ladies in the U.S. history have had similar moments, things were slightly combative for Melania. Yes, we speak of her visit to the Mexico-U.S. Border in 2018 to meet immigrant children. She ended up wearing an “I really don’t care, do u?” jacket, which raised quite a few eyebrows.
On June 21, 2018, Melania went to a migrant detention center wearing a Zara design jacket with the phrase “I Really Don’t Care. Do U?” on the back. pic.twitter.com/gVYefFafF3
— MythoMAGA (@MythoMAGA) January 19, 2026
As a couple, both Donald and Melania have clocked some amusing moments together as well, which has directly tossed aside all traditions. For instance, the duo chose to jet away to their lavish Mar-A-Lago property after losing the 2020 Presidential election to Joe Biden. They even rang a private farewell gathering at Andrews Air Force Base, which has not been the case in the history of outgoing Presidents and First Ladies of America.
Moving along a couple of years ahead, Melania Trump hogged the spotlight with the release of her documentary and memoir. Unlike other first ladies, she chose to have people see them while her husband was still in office. In fact, her memoir titled Melania was released just a few weeks before the presidential election. The documentary film was shot alongside and reflects the 20 days that led to Donald Trump’s election as the U.S. President for the second time.
Melania Trump even hosted a private screening of the documentary in her name at the White House. It was attended by eminent CEO’s, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Zoom’s Eric Yuan and Amazon’s Andy Jassy. Amazon acquired the license for the documentary after having paid a whopping $40 million.
