‘Every step in my life had a different turning point. Growing up in Slovenia, living in both Milan and Paris at a young age, then moving to the United States and living in New York City in my 20s – all of that has led to my serving our great nation as First Lady.’ – Melania Trump
Sometimes people are upset if I write negative things about Melania Trump, and I want to put an end to the false idea that she deserves total privacy. Therefore, let me explain why I (and others) have a right and duty to research and report about her life regardless of whether it’s flattering:
1) Melania is a public figure because of her marriage to a former U.S. president and reality show star. Her role as Trump’s wife puts her in the spotlight and gives her power and influence. Because she is a public figure who frequently works on political projects, her actions are newsworthy. Some of that news is unflattering to her, but people have a legal right to say negative things about public figures who don’t have the same privacy rights as private citizens.
2) Political figures have power over citizens, which gives citizens the right to know who they are. Basically, we have the right to know who is creating laws and policies that affect our lives. Many researchers report that Melania is a major power in Trump’s circle. For example, she’s the first person he contacts after his speeches. Pulitzer Prize–winning Washington Post reporter Mary Jordan wrote a biography (The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump) and she says Trump sent Melania to interview VP candidates and she favored Pence who was last on Trump’s list, and Trump eventually chose Pence. Melania steers Trump to make political decisions that she wants, even when Trump doesn’t want to.
3) Fairness. Every other First Lady has been researched. Therefore, Melania doesn’t deserve special treatment. We have no obligation to grant her privacy that none of the other First Ladies got. She should accept the same treatment that every other First Lady gets. No more, no less.
4) A person being given 24/7 access to the president of the United States is a national security concern. From approximately the age of 17 to 26 when Melania met Trump her life is a virtual blank to most Americans. Considering also that she was raised in an essentially communist nation that didn’t get democracy till 1990 when Melania was 20 years old, that’s a red flag. I finally found images of a job she was presumably paid for before meeting Trump and, shockingly, Melania is acting the role of U.S. president. The clothing ad soundtrack is the 1978 Elvis Costello & the Attractions song that says 'She's been a bad girl, she's like a chemical' and 'Though you try to stop it, she's like a narcotic'.
It doesn’t matter that Melania appears to genuinely prefer capitalism, apparently reveling in clothing, jewelry, fine homes, private jets, and other material things. It should be standard procedure for our national security team to thoroughly research the background and connections of anyone close to the president who was raised as a communist, because communism is an old foe of capitalism and its most powerful example: the United States.
Finally, there’s a reason people keep secrets: to hide something. Melania doesn’t want people to research her life because if the public found out that would damage her reputation and limit her ability to achieve her goals. For example, when she attempted to sue Mail Media, Inc. for allegedly stating that she had been an “elite escort” in the “sex business”, she claimed those statements “caused tremendous harm” to her “personal and professional reputation and prospective economic opportunities, as well as causing her significant humiliation and emotional distress.” She admits that she anticipated profiting financially from her role as First Lady.
Personal injury lawyer Eric Turkewitz reported that he thought Melania’s “lawyers had committed legal malpractice” and her claim “exposed her to a (well-deserved) torrent of scorn and derision.” Eric says that not only did she commit a crime in the legal books, but she also deserved to be punished by the Court of Public Opinion. After Melania betrayed her “friend” Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Stephanie told Liam Bartlett of 60 Minutes Australia that “Melania does not want people to know who she is or what she’s about. And Melania by remaining mysterious, keeping up that steel wall, she doesn’t have to answer to anyone.”
However, as a political figure Melania should be held accountable if she has done something wrong, if not in the legal courts, then in the Court of Public Opinion. Liam admitted that Melania is very secretive by stating, “Despite being one of the most photographed women on the planet, she remains virtually unknown…Melania has been the First Lady of the United States for almost four years, but unlike her husband she’s still a mystery.” Melania’s failure to disclose basic things about her life is wrong, because citizens deserve to know about political figures who have power over us.
It’s unethical to make false accusations about Melania and claim the fake news is fact. However, it is ethical to speculate about her, to research her life, and to publish those findings. And like the U.S. legal system, Melania has the right to know the charges against her and to defend herself against those charges in the Court of Public Opinion. That’s fair. And for those of us who are U.S. citizens, we have a Constitutional right to free speech, which includes the ability to write about public figures. Everything I write about Melania is for the public good, and whether readers agree with me or not, that is my goal.