Is Melania the Trump campaign’s secret weapon? | Arwa Mahdawi

She left the White House with the worst popularity rating for any first lady in history. But she could still be an asset for her husband

She is a riddle inside an enigma wrapped in Valentino. One of the few things anyone can say with certainty about Melania Trump is that the former first lady has never been keen on politics. And who can blame her? Melania was living a life of untrammelled luxury before her husband decided he wanted to be president. She didn't have to pretend to care about causes. She didn't have to shake hands with paupers. She didn't have to live in a shabby old house in DC. She could do whatever she liked. When Donald Trump got booted out of the White House, Melania didn't seem particularly distraught.

Nor has Melania seemed especially enthusiastic about Trump's attempts to weasel his way back into the presidency. The former model kept her distance from his 2020 re-election efforts and has been noticeably absent from the 2024 campaign. She attended the campaign launch event in November 2022 and showed up when Trump cast his ballot for himself in the Florida presidential primary last month, but that's about it. She has been so absent that Missing Melania" posters have been jokingly handed out at some of Trump's campaigns by, rumour has it, his detractors.