Melania slapped away Trump's hand in viral 2017 video to blackmail him into signing modified prenup, says book
When Melania Trump slapped away her husband's hand at their trip of Israel in 2017, the incident was witnessed by million as a clip went viral on social media. But none of the people could guess the real reason behind her controversial action. A recently-released book about the first lady delved into the hidden truth.
According to 'Art Of Her Deal' by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mary Jordan, it all started back in 2016, a month prior to the election when the Trump campaign was dealt with the most fatal blow with the leaked recording of an old 'Access Hollywood' tape which caught President Donald Trump making the infamous comment about women — “You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy.” When the interview was originally taken, Trump was not only married to Melania, she was pregnant with his youngest son, Barron. Jordan said that instead of going berserk and throwing pots and pans at her husband, Melania took the high road and publicly forgave the POTUS. The move confirmed her sophistication and guile as she had secretly begun a kind of “strike” that made her make the most of the situation. Immediately after Trump's inauguration, she decided not to move into the White House and shoulder the responsibilities of a FLOTUS. Instead, she bought time by saying that Barron needed to complete his schooling and stayed back in New York.
Later in May of the same year, when she had to accompany Trump to Israel to keep up with the facade that everything was fine between the first couple, she was seen refusing her husband’s offer to hold her hand after they walked down the Air Force One and across the red carpet that had been laid out in anticipation of their arrival. She slapped Trump's extended hand away in the presence of President Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu who went there to greet them.
At the time, experts believed that Melania's deliberate physical distancing from her husband was due to her displeasure of Trump being elected president, or a basic lack of confidence and her murky relationship with her husband but Jordan revealed in the book that none of those was the reason. Melania was in the process of renegotiating her financial arrangement with Trump, “to ensure the financial future of herself and their son, Barron,” and slapping away of the hand was her way of pressuring him into signing the renewed deal.
After a while, reportedly after getting what she wanted, Melania returned to her full-time duties. Details of the amended prenuptial agreement were never made public. Jordan also agreed that it was a form of blackmail on the first lady's part. “And maybe like a smart move,” Jordan told Haaretz in a recent interview. “His two previous wives fought with him. People said he was stingy. Now people give Melania credit for being good with her art of the deal. She said it was for Barron. She is with him for 22 years, more than any [other] woman.”
She also added that Melania is not the trophy wife that the media paints her to be. “The normal talk was that she wanted to marry a rich guy and that she was frightened when [Donald Trump] entered the campaign in 2015 and disrupted her comfortable world,” Jordan said. “But there is plenty of evidence to point out that from the first moment, Melania encouraged and supported him and his political ambitions.”
She added: "Before the coronavirus she prepared herself to be more active in the campaign. The impeachment process was a trigger for her. It strengthened her bunker mentality. She wants to win no less than her husband.”