MELANIA: “For the second year in a row, first lady Melania Trump departed the White House solo, 40 minutes ahead of her husband for his State of the Union address. ‘Mrs. Trump knows this is an important night, and wants to ensure the experience of her guests is special, and that they feel comfortable,’ the first lady’s deputy chief of staff for communications Stephanie Grisham told CNN. Those guests are 13 invited citizens who represent a broad range of President Donald Trump’s administration policy interests as well as causes championed by the first lady. Trump has made a show of hosting the State of the Union guests a grander to-do than previous first ladies, spending more one-on-one time with them, without the President, than her recent predecessors.”
–Kate Bennett, “Melania Trump travels solo to the Capitol again for the State of the Union,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, February 5, 2019 10:03 pm