Melania Trump's 'mysterious' image has been deliberately created, claims biographer: 'She does it on purpose'
Washington Post reporter Mary Jordan says she spent five years learning about Melania Trump before penning her new biography about the first lady.
In a conversation with CNN last week, Jordan touched on the "complicated" bond between Melania and President Donald J. Trump, as well as her relationship with stepdaughter Ivanka Trump. "Her brand is to be mysterious," the author of 'The Art of Her Deal' told CNN's Alisyn Camerota.
The 50-year-old first lady's reticence has been a subject of discussion for the longest time, especially since she rarely appears in public or gives speeches. Furthermore, not much is known about her life before her relationship with the president. "She does it on purpose. Her brand is to be mysterious," Jordan told CNN on Tuesday. "Just as Trump’s brand is to never stop talking. There’s no such thing as too much publicity. He made his name by putting Trump on everything — every building, every magazine. Well, her brand really is (to be) the most recognized, unknown, person perhaps in the world."
Despite Jordan's claims that her book is based on more than 100 interviews, the White House has rebuffed it nonetheless.
According to the first lady's spokeswoman, 'The Art of Her Deal' is a work of "fiction." "Yet another book about Mrs. Trump with false information and sources," Stephanie Grisham, Mrs. Trump's chief of staff, said earlier this month. "This book belongs in the fiction genre."
Meanwhile, White House spokesman Judd Deere has called the book just another "hit piece." "These allegations couldn’t be further from the truth and had the Washington Post or the publishers of this book fact-checked this with Ivanka’s office, they would know that," he said. "Hit pieces like these only serve to conjure non-existent palace-intrigue stories unworthy of the paper they’re printed on."
That said, Jordan's book does include a conflict-filled portrayal of Ivanka's relationship with her stepmother. "I’ve spoken to many people and inside the White House, particularly at certain times, tense times, there’s been Team Melania and Team Ivanka," Jordan told CNN of their relationship. "And there’s a lot of tension there. When Ivanka came to the White House, she really loved it immediately, Melania was up in New York. Ivanka, all of a sudden said, 'You know, I think we should rename the First Lady’s office the First Family office.' And then, of course, Melania put her foot down and said, 'No way.'"
The author also gave her own insight into the first lady's relationship with the president. "They’ve been together 22 years. And, by all accounts, Donald Trump is not the easiest person to be with for 22 years," Jordan told CNN. "I’ve interviewed many people who’ve been to dinner with them, seen them up close, worked for them, and there is a real connection there. But it has changed over time and it goes up and down."
"Love is complicated and, as they say, Trump love is really complicated," she continued. "They spend a shocking amount of time physically apart. And yet, the first call he often makes after a speech or a rally is to her. It’s a mystery."
Jordan also chimed in on what could be next for Melania if her husband lost the 2020 presidential election. "There’s a lot of things she could do," she said, per CNN. "She’s actually quite creative and very smart. I think she’s wildly underestimated, just because she’s quiet."
"As Anthony Scaramucci, who used to work in the White House very briefly, said, 'Donald Trump doesn’t do co-stars. There’s only one star.' And Melania’s genius is that she knows that," Jordan added. "She always stays in the background. Once they leave the White House, it will be interesting to see if some of these things that she told people in her 20s and 30s, about wanting her own business, to design things, come true."