Melania Trump tried to stop Trump-hosted 'superspreader' events at White House: Book
A new book has claimed that former First Lady Melania Trump tried to persuade her husband, former President Donald Trump, to reduce the number of people attending political events at the White House during the pandemic.
Author Michael Bender's book, 'Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost' hit the shelves on Tuesday, July 13. In his book, Bender claimed that Melania told former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows “no” three times when he asked about an election night party. Bender, a White House reporter for The Wall Street Journal, further alleged that "the constant use of the White House for blatantly political purposes also made her uncomfortable," The Independent reported.
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According to the book, Melania was concerned after a number of White House events in 2020 were linked to Covid-19 cases. The former POTUS tested positive for Covid on October 2, just days after a Rose Garden gathering that was widely reported as a "superspreader event" due to a visible lack of social distancing.
Trump was hospitalized for three days as he battled the virus. More than 30 White House staffers and associates had contracted the disease by October 7, including Melania and the couple's son Barron Trump.
Trump had originally planned to hold an election night celebration at the Trump International Hotel near the White House. This would have been in violation of Washington DC’s Covid regulations at the time, which enforced a stringent cap of 50 guests at events. Bender noted, however, that the regulations did not apply to the White House.
The POTUS reportedly called his wife from Air Force One after a Michigan rally, hoping to sell the election night party to her. “This is your night — do what you’re going to do,” Melania allegedly told her husband, per the book. However, she managed to downsize the event from 1,000 to about 200 guests, making the get-together even more exclusive.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem was keen on attending a number of White House Christmas parties that took place over the holidays, per the book. In response, Melania allegedly said, “Fine… you know what? If she wants to get Covid that bad, that’s up to her,” Bender wrote.
Last week, MEAWW reported how another book on the Trumps had claimed that the former president and his wife often ate alone at a "roped-off table" in the center of a Mar-a-Lago patio restaurant. 'Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency’, author Michael Wolff’s third book on the Trump presidency, claims that the Trumps are "looked at, somewhat, like zoo animals. No, no, that's not right. They are like a newly married couple: every night is a wedding at which they spend their dinner greeting friends and wellwishers."
It’s been well-documented that since leaving the White House, Trump has lived at his luxury beachfront resort in South Florida. Wolff claims in his upcoming book that he eats dinner most evenings on the patio, appearing just as it has filled, "at which point everyone stands and applauds.” On the other hand, the book also appears to question whether Melania Trump actually resides with him at the Mar-a-Lago.