Why is the store dummy so quiet?
There’s a very simple explanation.
Melania Trump, perhaps the most private first lady in modern history, has retreated more and more from the spotlight since departing Washington last January.
…She views her husband’s continued impact on the GOP landscape as his job, not hers. “You’re not going to see her at rallies or campaign events, even if he ‘officially’ says he’s running again,” said another person aware of the disinterest Trump has shown in supporting the former President.
Lack of interest, not disinterest.
…so often was the answer “no” when Trump was asked by then-candidate Donald Trump’s staff to appear at events that eventually, “We just stopped asking altogether,” said a political operative who worked on team Trump in the early days. Notoriously weary of public scrutiny and press coverage, Trump participated in fewer than five on-camera interviews and no print media interviews when she was first lady, an unheard of scarcity.
Yes and guess why she’s wary of public scrutiny and press coverage. It’s because there’s nothing there. She’s an empty shell. It’s not because she’s glamorously “private,” it’s because she has absolutely nothing to say. Her head is empty. So is her husband’s but he fills the void with yammering. She fills it with…I have no idea what. Looking out the window maybe.
“The Trump voter puts (Melania Trump) on a pedestal. They’re awed by the way she looks or the way she basically doesn’t express ideas or opinions, which they see as stoicism and loyalty. For them, that’s enough for fealty,” the operative said.
Hahaha yes sure that’s what it is. It’s not that she’s a blank, it’s that she’s loyal and stoical. She’s trans interesting.
Most Trump voters probably believe women should be beautiful and quiet. They don’t care if she’s empty, because that’s what they like women to be. Except ones like MTG.
Yes, as long as she stays “the woman behind the throne,” it matters little to her what she says or does, if she says or does anything. She was in charge of the christmas trees and the rose garden, and “be best,” which was ignored anyway. She’s good by the Trumpers since she doesn’t interfere with male ambition.
I thought this was an interesting read.
https://qz.com/960985/a-deep-analysis-of-melania-trumps-social-media-photos-reveal-a-woman-in-hiding-from-the-world/
Well, put yourself in Melania’s place; you’re a beautiful woman from a poor country where the prospects for beautiful women are, shall we say, limited; you manage to become a supermodel and attract the eye of a rich lecher; you agree to be the lecher’s trophy wife and give him a single child on the condition that he gives you access to his riches; then the lecher goes and gets elected President. Oh, he’s run (or bloviated about running) for decades, so you didn’t bother to worry about him actually *doing* it…and then he goes and does it. Suddenly you’re the wife of the most despised person in the world, and expected to do a lot of things you never imagined or wanted to do.
Melania is hardly a saint, but she didn’t sign up for this, and it’s neither surprising nor particularly disappointing that she didn’t show much of an interest in the duties of the role that was unexpectedly foist upon her. I do not have an overflow of empathy for her, but I can well understand why she wouldn’t want to play the game, regardless of how intelligent she is.
More generally, the role of First Lady shouldn’t even really be a thing. It isn’t particularly a thing in many other countries, especially in Europe and Canada. When was the last time you heard anything at all about Justin Trudeau’s wife, or Angela Merkel’s husband? They perform no real civic functions and have no notable public presence; Wikipedia says that Canadian Prime Ministers’ spouses “…participate in various ceremonial, diplomatic, or partisan activities alongside the prime minister”, but I can tell you from a citizen’s point of view, these activities are *quite* limited in scope, and it is possible to live through several successive elections without ever hearing of the Prime Minister’s spouse at all. I vaguely recall Sophie Greagoire Trudeau being mentioned in profiles of her husband during his first campaign, but I could not tell you anything at all about Stephen Harper’s wife, or even strictly speaking if he had one; I only assume so because he’s a stuffy old family-values conservative.
Perhaps this is due to the particulars of the constitutional regimes in Canada and Germany; in Canada, the Head of State is still Queen Elizabeth II, represented in the person of the Governor General of Canada (appointed by the Prime Minister). The holders of this office are not exclusively women, but many have been women in the last few decades, and they perform much more publicly-visible ceremonial and diplomatic functions than the Prime Minister’s spouse. Germany has a ceremonial President who performs a similar role here; he gets to live in a palace and everything, and sit for interviews about the state of the country, and host state dinners, and generally represent the interests and spirit of the nation without having actual executive or legislative responsibility. He is elected by representatives from the various states (who constitute Germany’s analogue to the Senate) and serves a fixed term.
By contrast, the President of the United States of America is both the head of state and the head of the executive branch of the government, tasked at once with executing the laws, commanding the imperial apparatus, and representing the spirit and will of the people at home and on the world stage. That is entirely too much for one person, and so it is not surprising that the president’s spouse developed into a role of its own. But it would probably be better if that ceremonial role were filled by an appointment (like any other cabinet position).
@Guest #3 – the picture of Barron with a professionally designed sandcastle is appalling. Many of us have memories of our first construction of a sandcastle, a pile of sand with some shells on it and a moat around it, then more advanced structures of a square of walls, crenellations, and a tower at each corner, plus moat. I am conjuring up such a memory of that now, with the tide coming in swirling round your ankles and destroying the castle. How could you have a child miss out on that experience by hiring someone to build a castle for him?
@Seth#4 – some spouses of British prime ministers have been more noticeable than what you say of Pierre Trudeau’ s wife though recent ones like Samantha Cameron and Cherie Blair emphasised that they kept on with their own careers. However they may only have been known within the UK, not outside of it, although I remember Trudeau’s wife was well known for her supposedly flighty ways.
Spouses of prime ministers have been very significant as the one person the PM could trust. Politicians often don’t have close friends – their colleagues are after their jobs and they have to be sure their friends won’t leak stories. Gladstone said you tell your wife everything or nothing – he told his everything. It was Denis Thatcher who told Thatcher she should resign.
But as for changing the American constitution – every inauguration I watch this semi-coronation, thankful that in the UK the old PM packs his bags and decamps from Downing Street, and the new one moves in the next day, after a visit to the Queen and a handshake goodbye/hullo. A reminder that there is no divinity around their role. However I can’t see the USA ever changing their constitution to remove the ceremonial role around the President. I understand that the USA is very averse to tampering with this sacred document.
Laura Bush was also very private, and Dubya told her she wouldn’t have to be involved in his campaigns. I think he ended up breaking that promise, but she still was not very public. Probably the most public first lady in my lifetime was Nancy Reagan, and as an actress she may have craved returning to the spotlight. Hillary Clinton was also somewhat more public, but part of that was because everyone insisted on hating her so publicly. And, of course, her husband managed to drag them both through the mud.