US election: When Melania tells Trump about her first date with Donald, she quickly feels sorry for her

No, Melania Trump is not a prisoner in her marriage, as the hashtag #FreeMelania, which became popular in 2017, suggested. Signs that such speculation was fueled were plentiful – and they were all misinterpreted.

Something like when Donald Trump wanted to take his wife’s hand on his first trip abroad as president after arriving in Israel, but she turned it down. She only did that because the red carpet wasn’t wide enough for her to walk next to her husband, she explains in her memoirs, published on Tuesday.

On a human level, she is firmly on the side of “Donald”, that is the main message of her book – politically she is trying to emancipate herself. The first quickly seems desperate, the second calculated.

At several points Melania mentioned that she did not agree with all of her husband’s decisions and that there were differences. But they are rarely discussed. Rather, she sees most things the same way he does. She has doubts about the 2020 election results, the entry ban for Muslims was about fighting terrorism and the media wanted to discredit Trump’s presidency.

She only explains the differences of opinion in two places. She protested against the separation of children from their parents at the border. And when it comes to abortion, they see things differently.

Even before it was published, a passage was published in which she “passionately” defended the right to abortion, according to the headline of the British “Guardian”. In fact, she writes that it is “imperative” that women have autonomy over whether to have children and that it is their “fundamental right of individual freedom to terminate a pregnancy.”

You might think that the topic seems important to her. The fact that she waited until three weeks before the election to make this important commitment makes it seem calculated. Especially in the current phase of the election campaign, Trump could really use someone to give him a more moderate image on this issue.

On a human level, she quickly puts herself at her husband’s side in a touching way. Contrary to what is often portrayed, he is a “courteous gentleman”. You quickly feel sorry for her when she talks about the first date with Donald. He addressed her in a New York club with “Hi, I’m Donald Trump” – while there was another blonde, attractive woman at his side.

Admiration for Donald Trump’s charm and sensitivity

She picked herself up for the first date in a black Mercedes and spent the day at his Bedford estate. It was a “typical Donald date” because he “actually just wanted to check that everything was going well,” she writes. She admired his passion for his work, his charm and his sensitivity.

And him on her? “Maybe he saw me as someone he could have deeper conversations with?” Maybe he saw me as more of an equal than the women he usually spent time with.”

The uncertainty of “maybe” is overwhelming. The person who could clear it up obviously hasn’t read the book at all. “I hope she writes good things about me,” Trump said at a recent campaign event – ​​and recommended that his supporters buy the book ($40).

Gregor momentum is an editor in the foreign policy department. For WELT he reports from the USA on the 2024 presidential election.