Melania Trump Disregards Child Separation Days Before Presidential Election
Illustration By Carolyn Burt
The day before President Donald Trump announced that he and Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Melania’s former senior advisor, leaked a secretly recorded phone conversation from 2018 between herself and the First Lady. However, only parts of the leaked conversation resonated in the news because their COVID-19 diagnosis took precedence.
Before the phone call leaked, many people thought of Melania Trump separately from her husband’s attitude and policies.
The whole idea around #FreeMelania or saving Melania Trump gained traction on social media after President Trump’s Inauguration in 2016. When the President turned his face to Melania she smiled, but when he turned away she frowned and looked the other direction. The small but noticeable change gave some people the impression that the First Lady was an unhappy union with her husband.
The same day, a meme speculated that the Tiffany box Melania gave Michelle Obama had the word “Help" written on it, further emboldening this notion. Melania also allegedly refused to hold President Trump’s hand, and looked uncomfortable in his presence during public appearances — both things which cemented the idea that she needed saving.
However, due to the leaked phone call, we now know her attitudes closely align with those of Trump. In the call, Melania discusses her legacy, her visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Christmas preparation, and the scandal involving her infamous "I Don't Care" Jacket.
When discussing her visit with migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border, she was not sympathetic towards the circumstances affecting their wellbeing. “The kids, they said, ‘Wow! I’ll have my bed,... I will have a cabinet for my clothes.’ It’s so sad to hear it,” the First Lady said. “But they didn’t have that in their own countries. They are taking care nicely [at the family detention centers]”.
Melania downplayed the harsh conditions migrant children have to endure in U.S. detention centers. She made it seem as if it’s a safe haven, when it’s the exact opposite. These children are laid on top of each other with space blankets that hardly cover their bodies. They do not have access to toothpaste, soap, or even a place to wash — it’s demeaning.
She also said that migrant families lie about their reasons for crossing the border in order to stay in the U.S. “A lot of ... moms and kids, they are taught how to do it. They go over and they say, ‘Oh, we will be killed by a gang member. We will be, we will be. Ahhh, it’s so dangerous.’ So they’re allowed to stay here”.
Mocking the experience of migrant families and the precautions they have to take demonstrates how little she cares. She and the President have yet to take measures to reverse this issue, and it’s evident how much worse they’ve made it.
In the tape, Melania also complains about how she was criticized for her focusing on White House Christmas decorations instead of the crisis at the border. “Who gives a f*** about Christmas stuff and decoration? Ok, and then I do it. And I say that I’m working on Christmas and planning for Christmas. And they said, ‘Oh, what about the children, that they were separated?’ Give me a f***ing break,” she said.
Melania further showed her lack of care for the children at the border by wearing a coat with the words “Really Don’t Care Do U?” when visiting a Texas child detention center in 2018.
She is the antithesis of what is expected of a First Lady. Her behavior and lack of involvement in important humanitarian issues undermines the efforts of former First Ladies and disrespects the legacy of the position. Hearing this tape changes the narrative that Melania needs to be saved from her husband, and invalidates the hashtag #FreeMelania. Instead, it becomes more apparent that her ideals align with President Trump’s and there’s nothing she needs to be freed from.
