Melania made Trump choose Mike Pence as vice president because he wasn't 'too ambitious', claims new book
While most people view Melania Trump as President Donald Trump's silent trophy wife who does not interfere or even give her opinion about her husband's policies, a new book about the first lady proved the notion wrong.
Former White House press secretary and communications director Sean Spicer told Mary Jordan, a Washington Post journalist who wrote 'The Art of Her Deal' on Melania, that the FLOTUS is "very behind-the-scenes but unbelievably influential." However, she is subtle in her own way as she, unlike other advisers of the president is not the one to say "hire this person, fire this person” or mandate what her husband should do.
Instead, she gives him her opinion, and more often than not, he tends to agree with what she says. On hearing what Melania has to say about a particular topic, Spicer said that the POTUS would normally say something like “‘she is right’, and that was the end of the discussion."
Spicer also claimed that the FLOTUS had a huge role to play behind former Indiana Governor Mike Pence being chosen by Trump to be his running mate and later going on to become his vice president. When Trump got Republican nomination for the presidential race in 2016, he had quite a few options when it comes to appointing his future vice president. While Pence was among the choice, the others included then-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
To get to know Pence better, Melania spent the July 4 weekend that year with Pence's wife Karen, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where they engaged in long discussions. The following week, the first lady told her husband that the Pences were "good people" and that ex-governor was "not too ambitious" and as a result, he would be “content” with being second to the president when it came to making national policies for the country.
Pence would “not gun for the top job” Melania told the president, unlike Gingrich and Christie. In addition, what the first lady further liked about Pence was the fact that he was honest enough to point out his competitors' good qualities when asked about his opponents while Gingrich and Christie acted like "total assassins" when posed with the same question. To Melania, Pence’s attitude meant he would "stay in his lane, step aside, and let Trump be Trump”.
Melania consciously pushed Trump to pick Pence over the other two for the VP role. "She played a big role. It was beyond consulting," a person with direct knowledge of the process told Jordan. "She thought he would be a loyal adviser, not an alpha." Her careful deduction of Pence's character gave him an edge over the two other candidates for the same post.
Other sources claimed in the book that despite their age-difference and apparent lack of affection while out in public, Trump's current wife knows him better than any other woman he has ever dated. This is the reason why Melania never thought of dating other men when the couple briefly split up in 1999. A friend of the couple told Jordan that the first lady understood that she would have to "prove her loyalty" to Trump if she ever wanted to be with him again in the future.
Also, the president pays more attention than most people think he does. "People cross Melania at their own risk—and that risk is, 'off with your head.' I'm not kidding ... you are gone if she doesn't like you," a former White House official told Jordan.