Say what you will about her husband the president, The Scrapbook believes that First Lady Melania Trump is just fine. Gracious, charming, conscientious, and decorative, she has carried out her public duties with conspicuous aplomb.
Until, that is, one brief shining moment this past week. Donald Trump’s first wife, Ivana, was being interviewed on television—she’s just published a memoir entitled Raising Trump. She claimed that she possesses a “direct line” to the White House but doesn’t use it because she wouldn’t want to inspire jealousy in Melania Trump—although, as she added pointedly, “I’m basically first Trump wife, okay? I’m first lady.”
At this juncture, of course, the present Mrs. Trump had the choice either to ignore Ivana’s silly and insensitive remarks or, in a slightly more genteel fashion than her husband, respond in kind. Regrettably, she chose a combination of the two: “Mrs. Trump has made the White House a home for [her son] Barron and the President,” spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham declared. “She loves living in Washington, DC and is honored by her role as First Lady of the United States.”
Then out came the stiletto:
She plans to use her title and role to help children, not sell books. There is clearly no substance to this statement from an ex; this is, unfortunately, only attention-seeking and self-serving noise.
All true, in our opinion, but better left unsaid.
On the one hand, The Scrapbook regrets that Melania Trump felt it necessary to respond to Ivana Trump in her husband’s fashion. On the other hand, in a world where our commander in chief has two living ex-wives, such episodes are bound to occur from time to time—and Melania’s annoyance, in this instance, is understandable. And it’s not as though there are precedents she can fall back on for how to handle such things. After all, during the 1980s, Nancy Reagan did not have to contend with any claims from Jane Wyman that she was the real “First Lady of the United States.”