Will Melania Trump be a ‘part-time’ first lady?

Republican Donald Trump is gearing up to return to the White House for a second non-consecutive term. He beat his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, in the recently concluded United States presidential election, four years after he had lost the race to Joe Biden.

Speculations have arisen about whether Melania Trump will return to the White House with her husband. The former and future first lady was mostly MIA (missing in action) during Trump’s election campaign. Rumours are rife that she is unlikely to return to the role full-time.

Here’s what is going on.

Melania Trump may be ‘part-time’ first lady

Melania Trump may stay away from the limelight as her husband becomes President again. She remained largely absent from Trump’s 2024 White House bid, only being seen with him on a few occasions.

The former First Lady was seen with her husband at the polling station in Palm Beach, Florida, on Election Day.

After winning the White House race, Trump thanked his family and campaign staff. He also gave a shout-out to his wife, saying: “I want to also thank my beautiful wife, Melania, who has the number one best-selling book in the country. Can you believe that?”

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Melania, who was also present, smiled and waved at her husband’s supporters.

On Thursday (November 7), Trump’s granddaughter, Kai, shared a family picture and wrote, “The whole squad.” Two things stood out in the photo: A missing Melania and the presence of Elon Musk, the tech mogul who backed Trump in the election race.

The whole squad pic.twitter.com/5yQVkFiney

— Kai Trump (@kaitrump) November 6, 2024

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Some say Melania is unlikely to return to the White House full-time for Trump’s second term . Instead, she could split her time between Palm Beach and New York, travelling to the White House to carry out ceremonial duties such as state dinners, as per The Daily Beast.

“She will have her private living apartment there, and she has her home in New York, and her home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach,” a social source close to the Trumps told People. “She will spend time in all of these places.”

The source said it was “not likely” that Melania will make the White House her main residence.

Melania and Trump’s 18-year-old son Barron is currently enrolled at the Stern School of Business at New York University (NYU). She is reportedly hoping to spend more time with her son in the city.

“As much as Melania loves Mar-a-Lago and her life in Palm Beach, she will spend more time in New York with her son, who is more important to her than anything else,” People cited its source as saying.

“Melania knows what to do, yet has a mind of her own,” the source added.

As per Daily Mail, Trump chronicler Michael Wolff said some senior Republicans have already suggested a new nomenclature: “a part-time First Lady”.

According to another source, the ex-supermodel “hates politics” and tries to avoid it. “Barron’s safety and well-being will always remain at the top of her priority list, but that doesn’t mean she would shirk her duties as first lady should that opportunity come again,” the source told People ahead of the US presidential election.

Was Melania Trump ‘unhappy’ as first lady?

Many observers say Melania did not enjoy her time at the White House earlier. As per reports, she and her husband occupied separate bedrooms during Trump’s four years as US president from 2017 to 2021.

In fact, she joined Trump at the White House five months later. The official reasoning for the delay was that Melania wanted her son Barron, who was 10 years old at the time, to finish his school year in New York.

Melania maintained a low profile during her husband’s previous tenure as president. “She clearly hated being in Washington,” Kate Andersen Brower, an author of several books about the White House, told Axios in June.

According to Brower, Melania appears to be “distancing herself even more from her husband and from the Washington social-political scene.”

Melania’s biographer Mary Jordan earlier claimed that the former model “made a deal with her husband that if he wins the presidency [again], she will not have to fulfil first lady duties 24/7,” Daily Mail reported.

Melania has mentioned in her memoir, published last month, how much she values privacy. “I have chosen to maintain a more discreet presence in the public eye, in stark contrast to Donald. I have always prized my privacy and opted for a more selective lifestyle” she wrote.

With input from agencies