MELANIA: “Hours after Melania Trump moved into the White House in June of last year, she peered out a window and took in a stunning view of the Washington Monument: ‘Looking forward to the memories we’ll make in our new home!’ the first lady cheerily wrote on Twitter in a snapshot of the tableau. But Mrs. Trump understood even then that her efforts to forge her own role would be second-guessed and scrutinized at every turn, including by her spouse. Mrs. Trump, a former fashion model who prefers clean, modern lines, had chosen some furniture for the White House residence in the months before she joined her husband in Washington. Yet in her absence, President Trump — whose tastes veer toward the gilded, triumphal style of Louis XIV — replaced her choices with several pieces he liked better. One of two people familiar with the episode cited it as an example of Mr. Trump’s tendency not to relent on even the smallest requests from his wife. A little more than a year later, Mrs. Trump remains an intensely private first lady still adjusting to the demands of a new life. She has few friends in Washington, keeps a light public schedule and when not watching over her 12-year-old son, Barron, returns home to New York — at least once per month, two people close to her say — for meetings and to visit a small circle of associates, including her sister and her hairstylist.”
–Katie Rogers, Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Maggie Haberman, “Melania Trump, a Mysterious First Lady, Weathers a Chaotic White House,” The New York Times online, August 17, 2018