According to the author of a new book on President Trump’s potential 2024 reelection, First Lady Melania Trump remains a crucial advisor to her husband.
During an interview on the DailyMail’s Welcome to MAGAland podcast, Axios reporter Alex Isenstadt revealed that aides calling Trump late at night would often find themselves on speakerphone so that Melania could also participate in the discussions.
Melania’s influence was evident when she advised Trump against using his first post after his Twitter account was reinstated to attack then-primary rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as it would damage his image.
‘She also gives him stylistic advice, which is not surprising because she’s someone who’s very much into appearances and presentation, of course,’ Isenstadt noted.
He added: ‘One of the things that she doesn’t like that Trump does is he dances at his rallies.’
Isenstadt’s book Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power hits shelves on Tuesday, March 18 and offers a look inside the president’s third and final campaign. It also includes insights into the first couple’s marriage and other dynamics of the Trump family.
It’s known that Melania doesn’t love getting too involved in politics, but she will show up at a donor event every now and then.
‘In a lot of ways, her scarcity creates value,’ Isenstadt said on MAGAland.
‘Donors want to be around her when she’s going to an event, that’s a huge attraction because she’s not there as much, right? Trump, he’s holding press conferences every day and he’s totally out there all the time. But when she’s present at something, it gets a lot of eyeballs. And I think she knows that.’
The relationship between Donald and Melania Trump has been at the center ever since they came down the golden elevator together in June 2015 as he announced the first White House bid.
In his 2024 campaign, the first lady was rarely seen by Trump’s side and same with his 2020 reelection bid.
‘For a lot of the campaigns, she was more focused on Barron, getting him off to NYU,’ Isenstadt said of the first couple’s only shared child.
Multiple reports claim that Melania limits her stays at the White House since her husband’s return to power and splits her time between Washington, D.C., and Florida.
She has only held one public event since back in the East Wing and was present for Trump’s joint address to Congress earlier this month.
A source told People last month of Melania: ‘She leads her own life and joins [the president] when appropriate in either place.’
Melania’s continue importance was even underscored by another incident Isenstadt detailed in his book that was meant to be a joke.
In 2023, Trump offered for then-pregnant Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) to lay down on the bed aboard his campaign plane if she needed to rest, according to an excerpt obtained by the Daily Beast.
Trump allegedly asked that Luna, 35, keep the offer hush-hush and joked that his wife doesn’t like for other women to be in his bed.
‘If you need a bed to lay down in, there’s one here on the plane. If you feel sick and you need to lay there, you can lay on it,’ Trump told the MAGA newcomer, according to Isenstadt’s retelling.
‘Just don’t tell Melania. She doesn’t like other women on my bed,’ he added.
Luna’s office did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Trump’s allies and aides have discounted the books being sold about his campaign, claiming that they include made-up stories in order to sell more copies.
‘Many of these so-called insider books are a desperate attempt to make money off of President Trump’s name because journalism is a dying industry with reporters peddling lies and selling their souls in order to make a quick buck,’ White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told the Daily Beast.
‘These works of fiction either belong in the bargain bin of the fantasy section in a discount bookstore or should be repurposed as tissue paper.’
Listen to the full interview with Alex Isenstadt on Welcome to MAGAland now, available wherever you get your podcasts
