In praise of Melania Trump, the first lady treated terribly by the media NY Post, Sep 1, 2019
A new book comparing Melania Trump and Michelle Obama has brought out predictable slaps against the current first lady from bullies who seek to attack the president through his family.
[...]
When it comes to the former Ms. Knauss, there are no boundaries to bullying at all.
Her Christmas decorations have been pilloried, her accent mocked. She has been depicted as a victim of domestic abuse.
When she visited a hospital after the El Paso massacre and cradled an orphaned baby with a smile, she was slammed for insensitivity.
When she recited the Lord’s Prayer at one of Trump’s rallies, she was branded a “whore.†[...]
But, unlike Hillary Clinton, whose aggressive foray into health care policy when she was first lady caused considerable political fallout for her husband, Melania doesn’t flaunt her influence.
Michelle Obama was a fine first lady and deserves plaudits for writing a bestselling memoir since. But her school lunch interventions showed she was an elitist nanny-stater at heart.
Melania has not committed the same errors of arrogant overreach. She has the humility to understand that she is not the main game. Such command of ego is the first requirement of a first lady.
Melania is much more than an airhead former model, in any case.
For starters, she speaks six languages: her native Slovenian, English, French, Serbian, German and Italian.
She may not have finished college, but she had the street smarts to escape her tiny town in an impoverished Eastern Bloc country and survive on her wits in America. She’s no political naïf, either: If your family has experienced communism firsthand, you have a pretty attuned sense of politics and ideology.
At the recent G-7 in France, she did not put a foot wrong.
With the eyes of the world on you, it must be nerve-wracking to ensure you don’t trip or have a wardrobe malfunction or say something silly to embarrass your husband and nation. Anyone who has accompanied a spouse to an important business function would know the pressure.
But Melania always looked lovely and engaged charmingly with world leaders. She kissed Canada’s Justin Trudeau on the cheek (and was accused, weirdly, of coming on to him). On an excursion to a Biarritz beach, she got on so well with French first lady Brigitte Macron, they wound up holding hands.
The inclusion of spouses makes these international powwows as much about personal relationships as highfalutin’ policy, and Melania’s schmoozing ability is an asset that shouldn’t be underrated.
She is a woman whose poise and dignity speaks volumes.
When people say, “Poor Melania,†she says, “Don’t feel sorry for me. I can handle everything.â€
More:
https://nypost.com/2019/09/01/in-praise-of-melania-trump-the-first-lady-treated-terribly-by-the-media/
