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The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump
In this “scrupulously reported biography” (NPR) Jordan documents how Melania Trump had discussing being First Lady nearly two decades before she landed in the White House and how she encouraged her husband to enter the race for president.Based on interviews with more than one hundred people in five countries, The Art of Her The Untold Story of Melania Trump is “an extraordinary work” (Salon) that draws an unprecedented portrait of the first lady. We see that behind the scenes Melania Trump is not only part of President Trump’s inner circle, but for some key decisions she has been his single most influential advisor.Jordan interviewed key people in Melania's close circle who speak publicly for the first time and uncovered never-before-seen photos and tapes of the tall woman with “tiger eyes,” as a judge in an early modeling contest said. The Art of Her Deal shows Melania’s ascent from a modest life, tracing her journey from childhood under a communist dictator to her complicated relationship with Donald Trump. The picture that emerges is “that the first lady is not a pawn but a player... and a woman able to get what she wants from one of the most powerful and transparently vain men in the world” (NPR).And while it is her husband who became famous for the phrase “the art of the deal,” this is the story of the art of her deal.
329 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2020
1341 people are currently reading
1092 people want to read
About the author
Mary C. Jordan
105 books15 followersMary Catherine Jordan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, best-selling author and National Correspondent for the Washington Post.
For 14 years Jordan was a foreign correspondent, and has written from nearly 40 countries. With her husband, fellow Washington Post journalist Kevin Sullivan, Jordan ran the newspaper's bureaus in Tokyo, Mexico City and London. She was the founding editor and head of content for Washington Post Live, which organizes political debates, conferences and news events for the media company.
Jordan also interviews some of the world's most accomplished people for the popular “What it Takes” podcast created by the nonprofit Academy of Achievement. Among those she has spoken with as part of this free podcast series, include singing legend Julie Andrews, artificial intelligence innovator Demis Hassabis, and Irish novelist John Banville.
Jordan, a daughter of Irish immigrants, was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. For her high school experience, she attended Saint Joseph Academy in Cleveland, Ohio (Class of 1979). She graduated from Georgetown University in 1983 and earned a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1984. In 1989–90, Jordan was awarded a Nieman Fellowship by Harvard University.
For a year at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, she studied W. B. Yeats and other Irish poets. She was given her first job in the newspaper business by Irish author and editor Tim Pat Coogan, who hired her to write a column in The Irish Press. She enrolled in Japanese language classes at Georgetown University before moving to Tokyo for four years and studied Spanish on a post-graduate fellowship at Stanford University before moving to Mexico for five years.
In 2018, Jordan was a national correspondent for the Washington Post writing about politics and the Trump administration and appearing on ABC, BBC, and other TV networks. She covered the 2016 campaign, writing in-depth political stories and profiles.
Jordan was also the founding editor and moderator for Washington Post Live, which hosted forums including "The 40th Anniversary of Watergate" in June 2012 that featured key Watergate figures including former White House counsel John Dean, Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, and reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. It was held at the Watergate hotel.
She has interviewed many newsmakers all over the world including singer and songwriter Paul McCartney, Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Benjamin Arellano Felix, one of Mexico's most notorious drug kingpins.
She has written extensively about injustices and discrimination against women including the exceedingly low conviction rate of rape in Britain and the many girls in India denied schooling solely because they were not born male.
Jordan and Sullivan won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for their Post series on the "horrific conditions in Mexico's criminal justice system and how they affect the daily lives of people," as the Pulitzer Board described. https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/kevi...
Along with four Post photographers, Jordan and Sullivan were also finalists for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for their series of stories on the difficulties women face around the world. The Pulitzer jury called the series a "sensitive examination of how females in the developing world are often oppressed from birth to death, a reporting project marked by indelible portraits of women and girls and enhanced by multimedia presentations." https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/staf...
Jordan has also won numerous other awards including the George Polk Award, and accolades from the Overseas Press Club of America and the Society of Professional Journalists.
In 2016, Jordan was the winner of the Washington Post’s Eugene Meyer Award for her exceptional contribution.
For 14 years Jordan was a foreign correspondent, and has written from nearly 40 countries. With her husband, fellow Washington Post journalist Kevin Sullivan, Jordan ran the newspaper's bureaus in Tokyo, Mexico City and London. She was the founding editor and head of content for Washington Post Live, which organizes political debates, conferences and news events for the media company.
Jordan also interviews some of the world's most accomplished people for the popular “What it Takes” podcast created by the nonprofit Academy of Achievement. Among those she has spoken with as part of this free podcast series, include singing legend Julie Andrews, artificial intelligence innovator Demis Hassabis, and Irish novelist John Banville.
Jordan, a daughter of Irish immigrants, was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. For her high school experience, she attended Saint Joseph Academy in Cleveland, Ohio (Class of 1979). She graduated from Georgetown University in 1983 and earned a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1984. In 1989–90, Jordan was awarded a Nieman Fellowship by Harvard University.
For a year at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, she studied W. B. Yeats and other Irish poets. She was given her first job in the newspaper business by Irish author and editor Tim Pat Coogan, who hired her to write a column in The Irish Press. She enrolled in Japanese language classes at Georgetown University before moving to Tokyo for four years and studied Spanish on a post-graduate fellowship at Stanford University before moving to Mexico for five years.
In 2018, Jordan was a national correspondent for the Washington Post writing about politics and the Trump administration and appearing on ABC, BBC, and other TV networks. She covered the 2016 campaign, writing in-depth political stories and profiles.
Jordan was also the founding editor and moderator for Washington Post Live, which hosted forums including "The 40th Anniversary of Watergate" in June 2012 that featured key Watergate figures including former White House counsel John Dean, Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, and reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. It was held at the Watergate hotel.
She has interviewed many newsmakers all over the world including singer and songwriter Paul McCartney, Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Benjamin Arellano Felix, one of Mexico's most notorious drug kingpins.
She has written extensively about injustices and discrimination against women including the exceedingly low conviction rate of rape in Britain and the many girls in India denied schooling solely because they were not born male.
Jordan and Sullivan won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for their Post series on the "horrific conditions in Mexico's criminal justice system and how they affect the daily lives of people," as the Pulitzer Board described. https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/kevi...
Along with four Post photographers, Jordan and Sullivan were also finalists for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for their series of stories on the difficulties women face around the world. The Pulitzer jury called the series a "sensitive examination of how females in the developing world are often oppressed from birth to death, a reporting project marked by indelible portraits of women and girls and enhanced by multimedia presentations." https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/staf...
Jordan has also won numerous other awards including the George Polk Award, and accolades from the Overseas Press Club of America and the Society of Professional Journalists.
In 2016, Jordan was the winner of the Washington Post’s Eugene Meyer Award for her exceptional contribution.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 397 reviews
July 24, 2020
MELANIA
Interesting book in that it clarifies the nature of the relationship between Donald and Melania Trump. This is a woman who had a childhood dream of becoming a supermodel but didn't have what it takes to go beyond being a catalog model. Donald Trump gave her an opportunity to become a professional model through his connections, and as such she rewards him with consummate loyalty. She is much shrewder than most people think and is complicit with him in helping to achieve his goals. She is not a person to be pitied in any way, nor does she want to be.
Interesting book in that it clarifies the nature of the relationship between Donald and Melania Trump. This is a woman who had a childhood dream of becoming a supermodel but didn't have what it takes to go beyond being a catalog model. Donald Trump gave her an opportunity to become a professional model through his connections, and as such she rewards him with consummate loyalty. She is much shrewder than most people think and is complicit with him in helping to achieve his goals. She is not a person to be pitied in any way, nor does she want to be.
September 2, 2020
Move along - nothing new and nothing to see here. PR puff piece. Makes her out to be faultless with less than flattering episodes glossed over if not ignored. Makes me wonder why this effort to rehabilitate her image, as if in preparation for something else on her horizon in the near future. His objections to this book are now clearly to hype the title. This tell all told nothing.
September 14, 2020
This will be quick. I was worried about her.
I no longer am. She's right where she wants to be, mostly. Certainly has more choices than I do, at this point.
Moving on.
I no longer am. She's right where she wants to be, mostly. Certainly has more choices than I do, at this point.
Moving on.
June 12, 2020
If you run out of lies and propaganda to tweet, this exhaustive biography is sure to be great bunker reading.
June 17, 2020
If I could give it .4*, I would, as the “Pulitzer Prize Winner” author knows how to spell and punctuate correctly. It is probably the worst piece of Trumpian campaign
propaganda ever. I was really interested in learning more about Melania, and in the hundreds of pages of this book , it still reveals virtually nothing about her. I guess that’s a feat of sorts. What drivel. I’ll give it to my mom who is interested in history. She might not take it lightly and hurl it with great force.
propaganda ever. I was really interested in learning more about Melania, and in the hundreds of pages of this book , it still reveals virtually nothing about her. I guess that’s a feat of sorts. What drivel. I’ll give it to my mom who is interested in history. She might not take it lightly and hurl it with great force.
July 24, 2020
I can’t believe a Pulitzer Prize winner produced this poor excuse for a biography. Jordan repeatedly says she was attempting to “understand” Melania Trump, but she had far too few sources to come anywhere close to her goal. Meanwhile, she writes some of the most clunky sentences I’ve read in a long time. Where were the editors? A high-school composition teacher would cover this manuscript with red ink.
June 21, 2020
Public opinion about Melania Trump is deeply divided: either she’s a hapless victim trapped in a loveless marriage with a blathering buffoon who just happens to dominate the world stage OR she is a shameless gold digger who cares only about herself and her family-one whose vapidity and vanity are unmatched, even by that of her ambitious stepdaughter (her only true nemesis in the fight for DJT’s approval).
I eagerly ordered this book to clarify the binary limitations posed by those two versions. I wanted to arrive at a deeper understanding of the current First Lady by reading a journalistic account-a researched personal profile that goes beyond the superficial hype and superfluous vitriol. Unfortunately, although Pulitzer Prize-winning Mary Jordan clearly tried to provide a well-researched and well-balanced approach to Melania’s psychology, the book just didn’t deliver.
It might be that Jordan was stymied by the multiple forces surrounding the Trump family privacy or it might just be that the subject just refuses to be known to anyone. It doesn’t appear that, despite solid research attempts, there was any biographical substance available to work with. Jordan provides a a decent sketch of Melania’s early life including her modeling career. She also paints a fairly comprehensive picture of how Melania deals with the philandering antics of her husband. And yet, there is still no sense of who Melania is as a person.
By the end of the book, readers will discover that Melania is neither of the two popular versions. She is not a victim, but she’s not a villain. She’s not a saint either, which Jordan does not cower from pointing out when she very non-subtly highlights Melania’s similarities to her husband’s penchant for lying by identifying the First Lady’s own predilection for verbal inconsistencies and deceptions. Despite these details, Melania is still an enigma. Readers looking to get a sense of understanding anything deeper-Melania’s motivations, belief systems, values, etc.-will find themselves disappointed.
Having said that, the book is an easily consumed, decently written narrative that contains some interesting tidbits and previously unreleased details. It is worth a couple of hours of your time, but don’t expect to reach any epiphanies about the woman behind the man. She’s still a mystery.
I eagerly ordered this book to clarify the binary limitations posed by those two versions. I wanted to arrive at a deeper understanding of the current First Lady by reading a journalistic account-a researched personal profile that goes beyond the superficial hype and superfluous vitriol. Unfortunately, although Pulitzer Prize-winning Mary Jordan clearly tried to provide a well-researched and well-balanced approach to Melania’s psychology, the book just didn’t deliver.
It might be that Jordan was stymied by the multiple forces surrounding the Trump family privacy or it might just be that the subject just refuses to be known to anyone. It doesn’t appear that, despite solid research attempts, there was any biographical substance available to work with. Jordan provides a a decent sketch of Melania’s early life including her modeling career. She also paints a fairly comprehensive picture of how Melania deals with the philandering antics of her husband. And yet, there is still no sense of who Melania is as a person.
By the end of the book, readers will discover that Melania is neither of the two popular versions. She is not a victim, but she’s not a villain. She’s not a saint either, which Jordan does not cower from pointing out when she very non-subtly highlights Melania’s similarities to her husband’s penchant for lying by identifying the First Lady’s own predilection for verbal inconsistencies and deceptions. Despite these details, Melania is still an enigma. Readers looking to get a sense of understanding anything deeper-Melania’s motivations, belief systems, values, etc.-will find themselves disappointed.
Having said that, the book is an easily consumed, decently written narrative that contains some interesting tidbits and previously unreleased details. It is worth a couple of hours of your time, but don’t expect to reach any epiphanies about the woman behind the man. She’s still a mystery.
June 20, 2020
Pretty light content. Nothing to see here.
This was an easy read, almost everything has been said before. How she wanted to be a supermodel and was pretty much a catalog, lingerie model with a few higher level gigs after she joined Trumps modeling agency. Author was kind to her saying she is basically nice , smart although she doesn't speak any languages beyond the typical few words we all use and didn't finish her first year at a tough university preferring to try her luck at modeling. Beautiful, dedicated mother, loves her husband but lives separate but parallel life seeing little of each other. At the 60% mark, the story finished with a few pages of photos , many pages of sources and index (about 38% of the book. Ok read but not worth the money. Boltons will probably be much more substantive.
This was an easy read, almost everything has been said before. How she wanted to be a supermodel and was pretty much a catalog, lingerie model with a few higher level gigs after she joined Trumps modeling agency. Author was kind to her saying she is basically nice , smart although she doesn't speak any languages beyond the typical few words we all use and didn't finish her first year at a tough university preferring to try her luck at modeling. Beautiful, dedicated mother, loves her husband but lives separate but parallel life seeing little of each other. At the 60% mark, the story finished with a few pages of photos , many pages of sources and index (about 38% of the book. Ok read but not worth the money. Boltons will probably be much more substantive.
August 16, 2020
I agree with the criticism this is a puff piece intent to rehabilitate her image. Many unflattering events are merely glossed over as one other reviewer rightly stated. She is at most a good mob wife. Keeps to the script. Keeps her mouth shut. Bore. Nothing interesting or new revealed. Do not recommend
wish-list
June 12, 2020
“Washington Post reporter Mary Jordan reveals in a new book that the first lady was also using her delayed arrival to the White House as leverage for renegotiating her prenuptial agreement with President Trump.” In marycjordan’s new Melania book
July 14, 2020
This book was decently written with quite a bit of information. It offered further insight into both Donald and Melania’s lives before the presidency. Overall, it was a very upsetting book, an extension of the embarrassment American citizens have to endure with Trump in office each day. I knew little about Melania before this book, and I respect her much less after reading.
April 27, 2022
Just a hit piece on President Trump. He likes integrity.
June 24, 2020
Like an issue of Town & Country Magazine, worth a look but do not expect substance. And the juicy bits can be gleaned from reviews and news articles.
October 29, 2020
I am giving this book a 4 stars rating as I think the author did a good job reporting on her research as accurately as she could. Most people are probably reviewing the book based on their like/dislike of the Trumps but I think the author deserves credit for writing on what she uncovered.
Melania Trump aka Melanija Knavs and later Melania Knauss is an enigma but this book offers some light on this intriguing personality. Her aura, demeanour, and profile are carefully crafted from someone whose intellect I believe is zilch (first word that comes to mind) but whose street smarts and feminine guile are exceedingly high and above average.
Her playbook is very much the Ralph Lauren. The celebrated designer - born Ralph Lifshitz in the Bronx, son of a Russian immigrant house painter - learned early on that it pays to wrap yourself in mystery.
Melania and her husband are two peas in a pod:
They are both independent, ambitious, image-conscious, unsentimental, and wary of those outside their inner circle. They are both fighters and survivors and prize loyalty over almost all else. Even their signatures are strikingly similar: sharp-angled up-and down streaks.
This book uncovers a woman who never looks back, does not value prior friendships or help received, and keeps on marching forward - her eye on the goal. Here are a few comments from those who crossed paths with her:
Nino Mihalek, a photographer who recommended a 21 year old Melanija to a highly regarded modeling agency in Milan, never received a thank you after she had gone to Milan. He spoke of an encounter with her afterwards as follows:
He said that her reaction was as memorable as her looks: flat and indifferent. He felt that she was so ambitious so determined to be a success, that she had no time for stepping stones like him.
A roommate in Paris described her as quiet and "motivated by the idea of helping her family financially." Melania claimed to be inspired by Sophia Loren.
About her pre-NY life, there is very little. Those (in Slovenia, Europe, and early NY times) contacted about her described her as formal and distant and "she wasn't friends with anyone...and it was as if she wanted to erase anything that had happened in her life before she met Donald Trump."
Melania's roommate in NY "remembered being surprised when Zampolli first brought Melania to his apartment. She was well past the traditional age for aspiring fashion models. And she was a curiosity...She moved into a makeshift bedroom carved out of a small dining space and tucked behind a Styrofoam wall in their apartment...To get to her space, Melania had to walk through the compact galley kitchen...her clothes in a small coat closet. They shared the bathroom which was off the living room, their communal hangout space. There wasn't much privacy..." This roommate too felt snubbed by Melania later.
Interestingly, Zampolli, the guy who paid for her ticket to NY "is now an ambassador to the small Caribbean island of Dominica. he maintains extra-ordinary access to the White House."
Her pre-Trump days can be classified as "getting by". She never made it as a top model rather she was dubbed a catalog model. Once Trump came along, he opened up a path for her like Moses and the Red Sea using his connections and clout with editors such as Bill Colson from Sports Illustrated.
She is a savvy lady and has been described as a chess player who played Trump at his own game. She deserves credit for advancing as a Slovenian underwear model to First Lady. Her astuteness is best evidenced when she re-negotiated her pre-nuptial agreement from a position of leverage. She learnt from the best - The Donald.
This book did not depict her as endearing even exposing her lies. Her claim of being proficient in several languages is not supported by her actions when she always opt to speak English or Slovenian. Court documents revealed her response about her formal education as such:
"I attended and graduated from design school, from Fashion and Industrial Design School and also attended, graduated from architecture degree, bachelor degree." The truth is she dropped out after one year of University to pursue modelling which she perceived as being more lucrative.
In preparing for a life of politics, Melania is reported to say in an interview in her Eastern European honey whisper of an accent:
"You play a role...It's a beez-ness. In politics, you need to know how to deal with people...You need to choose the right people to work for you...you need to know how to run a beez-ness"
When rumblings arose about her own immigration to the US, she engaged Michael Wildes, another immigration lawyer to speak about her entry to the US on the grounds for clients with "extra-ordinary ability"!!!! And here is at least one person who received a thank you and no doubt a handsome fee - "I thank Michael Wildes for his counsel in reviewing my own path to the American Dream..."
With respect to her parents' and sister's move to America, Eric Bland, an immigration lawyer was summoned to Trump tower to meet with Melania to help facilitate their entry into the USA. Her parents became citizens in 2018. Her sister, Ines, lives in NY and her immigration papers were helped by friends including her senior advisor, Stephanie Winston Wilkoff who was specifically requested (by Melania) and wrote a recommendation for her sister. All of this despite Trump making immigration a cornerstone of his campaign and deriding "chain migration".
I believe theirs is a marriage of purpose. There should be "No Free Melania" protest, she does not need it. She is very happy in the world she inhabits - Husband and wife maintaining parallel lives preferring separate spaces and routines. Trump for all his playboy and womanizing reputation seems a pretty lonely man.
My personal opinion is that people should keep their expectations in check. Melania is who she is. I am sure she does not enjoy the scrutiny as she values her privacy. However, when one opts to be in public life, one ought to expect scrutiny - warts and all.
Melania Trump aka Melanija Knavs and later Melania Knauss is an enigma but this book offers some light on this intriguing personality. Her aura, demeanour, and profile are carefully crafted from someone whose intellect I believe is zilch (first word that comes to mind) but whose street smarts and feminine guile are exceedingly high and above average.
Her playbook is very much the Ralph Lauren. The celebrated designer - born Ralph Lifshitz in the Bronx, son of a Russian immigrant house painter - learned early on that it pays to wrap yourself in mystery.
Melania and her husband are two peas in a pod:
They are both independent, ambitious, image-conscious, unsentimental, and wary of those outside their inner circle. They are both fighters and survivors and prize loyalty over almost all else. Even their signatures are strikingly similar: sharp-angled up-and down streaks.
This book uncovers a woman who never looks back, does not value prior friendships or help received, and keeps on marching forward - her eye on the goal. Here are a few comments from those who crossed paths with her:
Nino Mihalek, a photographer who recommended a 21 year old Melanija to a highly regarded modeling agency in Milan, never received a thank you after she had gone to Milan. He spoke of an encounter with her afterwards as follows:
He said that her reaction was as memorable as her looks: flat and indifferent. He felt that she was so ambitious so determined to be a success, that she had no time for stepping stones like him.
A roommate in Paris described her as quiet and "motivated by the idea of helping her family financially." Melania claimed to be inspired by Sophia Loren.
About her pre-NY life, there is very little. Those (in Slovenia, Europe, and early NY times) contacted about her described her as formal and distant and "she wasn't friends with anyone...and it was as if she wanted to erase anything that had happened in her life before she met Donald Trump."
Melania's roommate in NY "remembered being surprised when Zampolli first brought Melania to his apartment. She was well past the traditional age for aspiring fashion models. And she was a curiosity...She moved into a makeshift bedroom carved out of a small dining space and tucked behind a Styrofoam wall in their apartment...To get to her space, Melania had to walk through the compact galley kitchen...her clothes in a small coat closet. They shared the bathroom which was off the living room, their communal hangout space. There wasn't much privacy..." This roommate too felt snubbed by Melania later.
Interestingly, Zampolli, the guy who paid for her ticket to NY "is now an ambassador to the small Caribbean island of Dominica. he maintains extra-ordinary access to the White House."
Her pre-Trump days can be classified as "getting by". She never made it as a top model rather she was dubbed a catalog model. Once Trump came along, he opened up a path for her like Moses and the Red Sea using his connections and clout with editors such as Bill Colson from Sports Illustrated.
She is a savvy lady and has been described as a chess player who played Trump at his own game. She deserves credit for advancing as a Slovenian underwear model to First Lady. Her astuteness is best evidenced when she re-negotiated her pre-nuptial agreement from a position of leverage. She learnt from the best - The Donald.
This book did not depict her as endearing even exposing her lies. Her claim of being proficient in several languages is not supported by her actions when she always opt to speak English or Slovenian. Court documents revealed her response about her formal education as such:
"I attended and graduated from design school, from Fashion and Industrial Design School and also attended, graduated from architecture degree, bachelor degree." The truth is she dropped out after one year of University to pursue modelling which she perceived as being more lucrative.
In preparing for a life of politics, Melania is reported to say in an interview in her Eastern European honey whisper of an accent:
"You play a role...It's a beez-ness. In politics, you need to know how to deal with people...You need to choose the right people to work for you...you need to know how to run a beez-ness"
When rumblings arose about her own immigration to the US, she engaged Michael Wildes, another immigration lawyer to speak about her entry to the US on the grounds for clients with "extra-ordinary ability"!!!! And here is at least one person who received a thank you and no doubt a handsome fee - "I thank Michael Wildes for his counsel in reviewing my own path to the American Dream..."
With respect to her parents' and sister's move to America, Eric Bland, an immigration lawyer was summoned to Trump tower to meet with Melania to help facilitate their entry into the USA. Her parents became citizens in 2018. Her sister, Ines, lives in NY and her immigration papers were helped by friends including her senior advisor, Stephanie Winston Wilkoff who was specifically requested (by Melania) and wrote a recommendation for her sister. All of this despite Trump making immigration a cornerstone of his campaign and deriding "chain migration".
I believe theirs is a marriage of purpose. There should be "No Free Melania" protest, she does not need it. She is very happy in the world she inhabits - Husband and wife maintaining parallel lives preferring separate spaces and routines. Trump for all his playboy and womanizing reputation seems a pretty lonely man.
My personal opinion is that people should keep their expectations in check. Melania is who she is. I am sure she does not enjoy the scrutiny as she values her privacy. However, when one opts to be in public life, one ought to expect scrutiny - warts and all.
June 28, 2021
A solid 3/5 stars from me, this unauthorised biography on First Lady Melania Trump was informative and easy to read. I also enjoyed some insight into Donald Trump, his ancestry and some of his quirks.
This is not a book I would necessarily have chosen to read, but for the fact I heard the author, Mary Jordan, being interviewed on a radio program. What piqued my interest was when Mary Jordan mentioned how Melania had been asked if she would be with Donald Trump if he was not a rich man. Her instant reply was “If I weren’t beautiful, do you think he’d be with me?”
Mary Jordan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Washington Post, where she covers American politics.
“I (Melanija) grew up in a small town in Slovenia near a beautiful river and forest. Slovenia is a small country that, back then, was under Communist rule. It was a beautiful childhood.”
Melania Trump is a very private and mysterious person, it would not have been an easy task to glean information about her, but Mary Jordan has done a marvellous job, travelling to five countries interviewing more than one hundred sources – from former housekeepers to photographers to roommates.
Melania’s parents and her older sister have a special place in Melania’s life. They are just about the only ones who really know her.
In response to a question asked of Melania in 2006 for an article in ‘Glamour’, a fashion magazine, to tell readers five things they did not know about her: -
She had studied architecture and design (although not graduating or receiving any university/college degree, having abandoned it to pursue modelling).
Loves the opera.
Finds swimming relaxing.
Would wear nothing but white every day if she could.
Bill and Hillary Clinton came to her wedding. “My husband and I are very close to them.”
2017, at the time of Donald Trump’s inauguration as President of the United States, Melania had been married to him for twelve years and knew his habits. Barron, son and only child of Melania and Donald was ten years old. Melania was to prove herself to be a very supportive wife.
‘Melania has publicly downplayed the reports of her husband’s serial infidelity and allegations from the roughly two dozen women who have accused him of sexual impropriety or abuse. In an October 2018 interview with an ABC News reporter, she waved off a question about her husband’s infidelity. “It is not a concern and focus of mine. I am a mother and first lady, and I have much more important things to think about and to do.” While hardly a ringing endorsement of her husband or her marriage, it offered Trump cover. When Trump is in trouble, Melania is in a unique position to embarrass him or save him, and she has consistently chosen to remain publicly on his side.’
As of 2021, they have been married for 16 years, Donald’s longest marriage to date. “Melania knows what Donald does not want, which makes her exactly what he wants.” Many people in the White House have a special affection for Melania and describe her as “drama-free” and “not demanding.”
Melania describes herself as a compassionate person, returning kindness with kindness, paying attention to details and a perfectionist.
“It’s true that their differences tend to be more obvious: she is as quiet as he is loud, as mannered as he is crude, and as cautious as he is impulsive. But in crucial ways, they mirror each other, both being independent, ambitious, image-conscious, unsentimental, and wary of those outside their inner circle. Neither the very public Trump nor the very private Melania has many close friends. Their loner instincts filter into their own marriage. To a remarkable degree for a couple, Melania and Donald Trump have always lived quite separately; they are often in the same building but rarely in the same room. That, however, is part of their deal, and it suits both of them.”
Melania Trump’s modelling career, which ended when she married Donald Trump, was interesting to read about, also from the view of the modelling world, it was a good insight. Melania was never a Supermodel though, although her husband reported her as such. To be a Supermodel, you have to have “it”, apparently she didn’t have “it”, according to a fashion photographer who was also Melania’s roommate when she arrived in New York from her travels around Europe.
Melania was a commercial model. In fashion-speak, commercial models typically do catalogue work and wear or pose alongside something a client is selling in a TV, billboard, or print advertisement. They are distinct from “high fashion” models (Editorial), who do more sought-after work, including designer fashion shows and prestigious magazine covers.
“A true editorial model has a certain relationship with the camera lens, in her face and in the way she moves, as if the model gives life to the photograph with her sheer power and chemistry. There’s just something in the picture that you can’t describe, but certain models have it."
“The most important and joyous role I’ve ever had is to be a mother to my young son.”
It will be interesting to see Barron Trump’s trajectory going forward. Will he one day be president of the United States of America? Watch this space.
First Ladies are constantly being critiqued, for what they wear, say and do. Melania received a lot of criticism of her clothing of choice. The link below profiles some of these events, but statements at the end of some of the photos put things in perspective, and I admired the fact that the author of the article for Glamour magazine gave clarification.
https://www.glamour.com/gallery/melan...
This is not a book I would necessarily have chosen to read, but for the fact I heard the author, Mary Jordan, being interviewed on a radio program. What piqued my interest was when Mary Jordan mentioned how Melania had been asked if she would be with Donald Trump if he was not a rich man. Her instant reply was “If I weren’t beautiful, do you think he’d be with me?”
Mary Jordan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Washington Post, where she covers American politics.
“I (Melanija) grew up in a small town in Slovenia near a beautiful river and forest. Slovenia is a small country that, back then, was under Communist rule. It was a beautiful childhood.”
Melania Trump is a very private and mysterious person, it would not have been an easy task to glean information about her, but Mary Jordan has done a marvellous job, travelling to five countries interviewing more than one hundred sources – from former housekeepers to photographers to roommates.
Melania’s parents and her older sister have a special place in Melania’s life. They are just about the only ones who really know her.
In response to a question asked of Melania in 2006 for an article in ‘Glamour’, a fashion magazine, to tell readers five things they did not know about her: -
She had studied architecture and design (although not graduating or receiving any university/college degree, having abandoned it to pursue modelling).
Loves the opera.
Finds swimming relaxing.
Would wear nothing but white every day if she could.
Bill and Hillary Clinton came to her wedding. “My husband and I are very close to them.”
2017, at the time of Donald Trump’s inauguration as President of the United States, Melania had been married to him for twelve years and knew his habits. Barron, son and only child of Melania and Donald was ten years old. Melania was to prove herself to be a very supportive wife.
‘Melania has publicly downplayed the reports of her husband’s serial infidelity and allegations from the roughly two dozen women who have accused him of sexual impropriety or abuse. In an October 2018 interview with an ABC News reporter, she waved off a question about her husband’s infidelity. “It is not a concern and focus of mine. I am a mother and first lady, and I have much more important things to think about and to do.” While hardly a ringing endorsement of her husband or her marriage, it offered Trump cover. When Trump is in trouble, Melania is in a unique position to embarrass him or save him, and she has consistently chosen to remain publicly on his side.’
As of 2021, they have been married for 16 years, Donald’s longest marriage to date. “Melania knows what Donald does not want, which makes her exactly what he wants.” Many people in the White House have a special affection for Melania and describe her as “drama-free” and “not demanding.”
Melania describes herself as a compassionate person, returning kindness with kindness, paying attention to details and a perfectionist.
“It’s true that their differences tend to be more obvious: she is as quiet as he is loud, as mannered as he is crude, and as cautious as he is impulsive. But in crucial ways, they mirror each other, both being independent, ambitious, image-conscious, unsentimental, and wary of those outside their inner circle. Neither the very public Trump nor the very private Melania has many close friends. Their loner instincts filter into their own marriage. To a remarkable degree for a couple, Melania and Donald Trump have always lived quite separately; they are often in the same building but rarely in the same room. That, however, is part of their deal, and it suits both of them.”
Melania Trump’s modelling career, which ended when she married Donald Trump, was interesting to read about, also from the view of the modelling world, it was a good insight. Melania was never a Supermodel though, although her husband reported her as such. To be a Supermodel, you have to have “it”, apparently she didn’t have “it”, according to a fashion photographer who was also Melania’s roommate when she arrived in New York from her travels around Europe.
Melania was a commercial model. In fashion-speak, commercial models typically do catalogue work and wear or pose alongside something a client is selling in a TV, billboard, or print advertisement. They are distinct from “high fashion” models (Editorial), who do more sought-after work, including designer fashion shows and prestigious magazine covers.
“A true editorial model has a certain relationship with the camera lens, in her face and in the way she moves, as if the model gives life to the photograph with her sheer power and chemistry. There’s just something in the picture that you can’t describe, but certain models have it."
“The most important and joyous role I’ve ever had is to be a mother to my young son.”
It will be interesting to see Barron Trump’s trajectory going forward. Will he one day be president of the United States of America? Watch this space.
First Ladies are constantly being critiqued, for what they wear, say and do. Melania received a lot of criticism of her clothing of choice. The link below profiles some of these events, but statements at the end of some of the photos put things in perspective, and I admired the fact that the author of the article for Glamour magazine gave clarification.
https://www.glamour.com/gallery/melan...
September 2, 2020
This book started off as I expected. An informative account about Mrs. Trump's early life. There was a tinge of animosity against Melania, but I hoped it would be spread out sparsely throughout this chapter only. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
Soon after the chapter where Melania meets Donald Trump, the hatred for Trump and Melania by association was palpable. Actually it was quite sad how the Author spoke about Michelle Obama's book when she wrote about how the Trumps made it "scary" for her family when Trump was talking about the Birth Certificate. All the while she knew what we now know to be a FACT that her husband was one of the orchestrators of the fake Russia collusion investigation and allegations which fueled the vicious, non-stop attacks by the left and the media against President Trump. This shows what low class the Obama's are and how gullible those who allowed them and still allow them to get away with such things.
Personally, I think the birth Certificate thing was a distraction for Trump. Do I think he was born in Hawaii, sure. Do I think that he used every means necessary to get an advantage of his situation, absolutely. From what I have read, he did register in school as an international student. Ironically, the main attack on Melania is how she was useless save for Trump's name and how she benefitted from Trump. What is good for the goose, apparently is not good for the gander.
The author brings up the "kids in cages" multiple times however fails to say the facts that Obama was the one that created those cages and that Obama himself was the one that started the practice of separating kids from their "families". I believe this would have given her a tinge of ethical reporting. Laura Bush spoke out against the Trumps because the Bush's were still grieving the decimation of Jeb Bush in the Republican Primary. Why did she not speak out against the Obama's when they were doing it?
Jordan took every opportunity to go after Donald Trump especially with Mrs. Morales and Diaz that worked so many years for the Trumps. It's funny because A. Both ladies made a living working for the Trumps and they were not forced to do so. The ladies talked about how Trump was difficult with his clothes et al and they needed to comply, however there are countless liberal leaning famous people that share the authors perceived political beliefs that are famous for being extremely difficult such as removing all green M&Ms, certain brands of water, etc. Hell, I did work for Matt Damon and he had special socks, combs, creams, candy, etc. No one could use his bathroom, which I did anyhow because I do not bend a knee. Not to mention that Morales and Diaz got paid for their interviews.
I found that Jordan kept getting stupid insignificant details and tried to put some conspiratorial spin to it. It seemed that Melania did not catch a break from Jordan or the rest of the anti-Trump movement. For instances, going back to the cages, Melania was the one that spoke out against Trump and later made him change his stance yet the author nor the anti-Trumpers gave her any credit and just attacked. I have said this before, Melania is the First Lady, whether you like her husband or hate him. None of the magazines have put her on the cover of their magazines when she obviously puts all First Ladies to shame, even Jacki O. It is sad. Jordan also points out how Melania stood up for Baron during the "impeachment" hearings but then agrees with the attackers about Greta Thumberg comments after she won the Time's most whatever that award is. Big difference though. Thumberg put herself into the limelight by going and speaking to the UN and slamming everyone. The reality is, she is a child and is NOT a scientist. She and her family have made plenty of money from her appearances. I do not care what she has been diagnosed with. She knows nothing and makes comments about "money" while they have Herman Miller chairs in their homes worth over $2,000.00 a piece. I am sure not many of the people who heard her "how dare you" speech live like that and take a year off of school to sail around the world.... BTW in a boat made of fiberglass and all types of material that are "harmful to the environment".
And very apropos, was the statement about Trump not wearing a mask. Recent news reports shows Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo walking his dogs around people without a mask, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House opening up a boarded up beauty salon to get her hair washed and blow dried while everyone else was banned from doing so, Not to be outdone, Governor Phil Murphy of NJ caught eating in a restaurant.
I will give you a summary of the book from the eyes of the author:
Melania is a liar. She does not speak the languages she says. She is a bad friend. She does not really love Trump. She only cares about Baron. Anything she supports is a fake thing that is there for the purpose of helping her husband. Her English sucks. And now she wants to win again because she loves the limelight.
It is very sad. I expected much more.
Soon after the chapter where Melania meets Donald Trump, the hatred for Trump and Melania by association was palpable. Actually it was quite sad how the Author spoke about Michelle Obama's book when she wrote about how the Trumps made it "scary" for her family when Trump was talking about the Birth Certificate. All the while she knew what we now know to be a FACT that her husband was one of the orchestrators of the fake Russia collusion investigation and allegations which fueled the vicious, non-stop attacks by the left and the media against President Trump. This shows what low class the Obama's are and how gullible those who allowed them and still allow them to get away with such things.
Personally, I think the birth Certificate thing was a distraction for Trump. Do I think he was born in Hawaii, sure. Do I think that he used every means necessary to get an advantage of his situation, absolutely. From what I have read, he did register in school as an international student. Ironically, the main attack on Melania is how she was useless save for Trump's name and how she benefitted from Trump. What is good for the goose, apparently is not good for the gander.
The author brings up the "kids in cages" multiple times however fails to say the facts that Obama was the one that created those cages and that Obama himself was the one that started the practice of separating kids from their "families". I believe this would have given her a tinge of ethical reporting. Laura Bush spoke out against the Trumps because the Bush's were still grieving the decimation of Jeb Bush in the Republican Primary. Why did she not speak out against the Obama's when they were doing it?
Jordan took every opportunity to go after Donald Trump especially with Mrs. Morales and Diaz that worked so many years for the Trumps. It's funny because A. Both ladies made a living working for the Trumps and they were not forced to do so. The ladies talked about how Trump was difficult with his clothes et al and they needed to comply, however there are countless liberal leaning famous people that share the authors perceived political beliefs that are famous for being extremely difficult such as removing all green M&Ms, certain brands of water, etc. Hell, I did work for Matt Damon and he had special socks, combs, creams, candy, etc. No one could use his bathroom, which I did anyhow because I do not bend a knee. Not to mention that Morales and Diaz got paid for their interviews.
I found that Jordan kept getting stupid insignificant details and tried to put some conspiratorial spin to it. It seemed that Melania did not catch a break from Jordan or the rest of the anti-Trump movement. For instances, going back to the cages, Melania was the one that spoke out against Trump and later made him change his stance yet the author nor the anti-Trumpers gave her any credit and just attacked. I have said this before, Melania is the First Lady, whether you like her husband or hate him. None of the magazines have put her on the cover of their magazines when she obviously puts all First Ladies to shame, even Jacki O. It is sad. Jordan also points out how Melania stood up for Baron during the "impeachment" hearings but then agrees with the attackers about Greta Thumberg comments after she won the Time's most whatever that award is. Big difference though. Thumberg put herself into the limelight by going and speaking to the UN and slamming everyone. The reality is, she is a child and is NOT a scientist. She and her family have made plenty of money from her appearances. I do not care what she has been diagnosed with. She knows nothing and makes comments about "money" while they have Herman Miller chairs in their homes worth over $2,000.00 a piece. I am sure not many of the people who heard her "how dare you" speech live like that and take a year off of school to sail around the world.... BTW in a boat made of fiberglass and all types of material that are "harmful to the environment".
And very apropos, was the statement about Trump not wearing a mask. Recent news reports shows Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo walking his dogs around people without a mask, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House opening up a boarded up beauty salon to get her hair washed and blow dried while everyone else was banned from doing so, Not to be outdone, Governor Phil Murphy of NJ caught eating in a restaurant.
I will give you a summary of the book from the eyes of the author:
Melania is a liar. She does not speak the languages she says. She is a bad friend. She does not really love Trump. She only cares about Baron. Anything she supports is a fake thing that is there for the purpose of helping her husband. Her English sucks. And now she wants to win again because she loves the limelight.
It is very sad. I expected much more.
June 16, 2020
In today’s political climate, I don’t think anybody is “neutral” about Melania Trump. I know I used to assume she was just a sideshow to the Donald Trump presidency, but Washington Post reporter Mary Jordan has written about Melania in her book, “The Art of Her Deal”.
Jordan’s book tries to clear up some of the myths of Melania Trump’s life. Who are her parents? What was her life prior to her arrival in the United States, using. “Genius” visa? How did she meet and marry Donald Trump, and what is the state of her marriage? What arrangements between the two have been made?
As readers and observers, we can only speculate on someone else’s relationship. We never know what goes on behind closed doors unless someone “tells”. Mary Jordan’s book is an interesting look at a woman who seems to have more life “inventions” than most.
Jordan’s book tries to clear up some of the myths of Melania Trump’s life. Who are her parents? What was her life prior to her arrival in the United States, using. “Genius” visa? How did she meet and marry Donald Trump, and what is the state of her marriage? What arrangements between the two have been made?
As readers and observers, we can only speculate on someone else’s relationship. We never know what goes on behind closed doors unless someone “tells”. Mary Jordan’s book is an interesting look at a woman who seems to have more life “inventions” than most.
August 7, 2020
This latest in the Trump factory of behind-the-scenes books turned out to be a little surprising. Jordan, like Mary Trump does in her current tell-all about the President, gives the reader a lot of information about Melania's early life before becoming First Lady. There aren't any real shocks, but it may give one an appreciation about what Melania has overcome to arrive where she is today. Actually, the First Lady should welcome this book because I found little, if anything, that is negative about her with the exception of her not really knowing five languages or the questionable avenues she took to get her immigrant parents and sister to become U.S. citizens. No, I don't really respect her any more now, but I will view her with new understanding even as she continues to enable the Commander In Chief.
July 27, 2020
**EDITED because I felt like my original comments were too mean and she is still a person.** I don't think the book is supposed to be a damning tell-all--it is super well-researched and even-handed--but it is damning nonetheless. Melania seems to lie freely and care more about her close family and her personal comfort than the country. Sound a lot like someone else? It was good to read this book to understand the terrible confluence of factors that got her in the White House. May it never happen again.
July 28, 2020
This is a strongly researched book about the First Plagiarizer...I mean the First Lady Melania Trump. I wanted to garner some understanding of why someone would...willingly have sex with Trump? Still not sure. She seems smart enough, quiet, willing to sacrifice her dignity for Trump. Too bad because she had a platform that could do so much good.
June 22, 2020
Well researched trash candy. Enjoy.
September 6, 2023
I was formerly part of the crowd that belonged to either (or both) the #FreeMelania narrative or / and the "Poor Melania, she never signed-up for the duties of being First Lady" line of thinking.
Not anymore. I have been persuaded by this book that Melania is organized, plays the long game, and can (and does) "out-Trump" Trump himself. She is all-in on this First Lady "thing" and she takes no guff from Ivanka.
Sure, as the book notes, if she has 10 Hours to prepare for a public speech, she will spend 9 Hours on her appearance, and 1 Hour on the substance, and delivery, of the remarks. But that does not mean she is a vain push-over. She's just vain.
In this report, Melania comes across as a tough Eastern European broad that will jerk you around every which way till Sunday until her goals are achieved through you, with you, or against you. Do not cross this woman. I love the description of how she forced a renegotiation of her pre-nup to better protect her son Barron from the older and beastly Trump children. Melania was never going to allow those greed vultures to eat her child. Nope.
Melania is a responsible mom, and a heck of a greed monster herself. She puts her child, and herself, first. Trump, that fool, is a distant second at best.
Not anymore. I have been persuaded by this book that Melania is organized, plays the long game, and can (and does) "out-Trump" Trump himself. She is all-in on this First Lady "thing" and she takes no guff from Ivanka.
Sure, as the book notes, if she has 10 Hours to prepare for a public speech, she will spend 9 Hours on her appearance, and 1 Hour on the substance, and delivery, of the remarks. But that does not mean she is a vain push-over. She's just vain.
In this report, Melania comes across as a tough Eastern European broad that will jerk you around every which way till Sunday until her goals are achieved through you, with you, or against you. Do not cross this woman. I love the description of how she forced a renegotiation of her pre-nup to better protect her son Barron from the older and beastly Trump children. Melania was never going to allow those greed vultures to eat her child. Nope.
Melania is a responsible mom, and a heck of a greed monster herself. She puts her child, and herself, first. Trump, that fool, is a distant second at best.
September 21, 2020
I saw this book at the public library and thought it would be interesting. Instead, I found a biased book which has repeated criticism and continuous attacks on Melania. She is too focused on Melania being a former model and seems obsessed with her being an immigrant and also married to President Trump. She wrote about the president's State of the Union Address and attacks him for awarding Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom that night. She states he was clueless about Coronavirus at that time but failed to let the readers know he included Coronavirus in the very speech she attacked. Don't waste your time on this book if you want a fair assessment of Melania Trump.
August 7, 2020
Quick read about a wannabe supermodel who married a wealthy man. Sad to learn that we taxpayers shouldered the cost of her stay in NYC after inauguration to pressure Trump for a better pre-nup deal. She could be much more influential on children’s issues if she made half an effort.
July 8, 2020
The Art of Her Deal, by Mary Jordan, 5 stars. Who is Melania Trump, this woman in the White House, much younger and 3rd wife, and longest married, to a man some might say, the most hated man in the world, a fool, but a rich one. We know a lot about Melania Trump, born in Slovenia when it was part of the USSR. Those were gloomy times in that country that used to be part of the former Yugoslavia.
Young Melania was a beauty from a young age. Her mother was a seamstress for a children’s clothing factory and loved dressing her daughters in pretty, homemade clothing. Melania learned that a pretty bow or button could do a lot for an outfit. She was discovered walking down a Slovenia street by a man who was looking for models for the European runways.
Melania has few lifelong friends. Her parents and older sister live in the US with her. She has a most loyal staff. She doesn’t seem to do a lot, except get dressed up and occasionally appear in public. She likes magazines and TV and of course she loves her son. She likes the social scene, sorta.
We know of no previous boyfriends, escapades, anything more than the cardboard first lady we see walking to Marine One or on the Truman Balcony, quietly next to her husband.
Why did she marry this guy with the funny hair? Did it start with M and end with Y? Did it have something to do with becoming an American citizen along with her parents and sister and never setting foot in Slovenia again? Was it her desire for a child? Probably all of the above.
But it seems, besides being the dress-up doll next to her husband, she offers him good, sound, soviet-style advice. Does she say, “You’re being an ass, Donald.” Possibly. He looks to her. He goes to her. When he’s done something that makes his citizens rail against him. She speaks her piece and then no more. Let Trump be Trump, someone said.
Good read, fascinating read, about a woman who may be more or less than we give her credit for.
Young Melania was a beauty from a young age. Her mother was a seamstress for a children’s clothing factory and loved dressing her daughters in pretty, homemade clothing. Melania learned that a pretty bow or button could do a lot for an outfit. She was discovered walking down a Slovenia street by a man who was looking for models for the European runways.
Melania has few lifelong friends. Her parents and older sister live in the US with her. She has a most loyal staff. She doesn’t seem to do a lot, except get dressed up and occasionally appear in public. She likes magazines and TV and of course she loves her son. She likes the social scene, sorta.
We know of no previous boyfriends, escapades, anything more than the cardboard first lady we see walking to Marine One or on the Truman Balcony, quietly next to her husband.
Why did she marry this guy with the funny hair? Did it start with M and end with Y? Did it have something to do with becoming an American citizen along with her parents and sister and never setting foot in Slovenia again? Was it her desire for a child? Probably all of the above.
But it seems, besides being the dress-up doll next to her husband, she offers him good, sound, soviet-style advice. Does she say, “You’re being an ass, Donald.” Possibly. He looks to her. He goes to her. When he’s done something that makes his citizens rail against him. She speaks her piece and then no more. Let Trump be Trump, someone said.
Good read, fascinating read, about a woman who may be more or less than we give her credit for.
July 25, 2020
I don't feel like I have a much better sense of Melania Trump now than before I read this critical biography, despite the author's extensive research and documentation (about 25 pages of notes, an index). There's a good chance that's because she's not all that knowable, or that she's too controlled to let anything slip. Jordan's interview subjects characterize Melania Trump as professional. Some say cool, and others say warm. She and her staff are reported to have the tightest lips in the White House. When talking to her parents and son, Trump speaks Slovenian, even if Donald is around, which apparently he isn't much. They genuinely seem to like each other, sources say, but they don't spend much time together, day to day.
When Melania does speak, her statements are generally broad, like "children shouldn't be harmed," but she doesn't get specific, even for the sake of illustrating her points. She seems to prefer her privacy above all else. The only time Jordan records Trump having lost her cool was once when a reporter made a weak joke about Donald being able to name a child "Barron," but not having the authority to bestow the title "Baron."
I had understood that the story would include Trump renegotiating her prenup, but though the original prenup was mentioned, there's no talking a revision. The information on how Trump and Donald reconciled after a breakup isn't provided, nor is their decision to get married. I wonder if the book got chopped up before its final publication. Anyone have an early ARC???
When Melania does speak, her statements are generally broad, like "children shouldn't be harmed," but she doesn't get specific, even for the sake of illustrating her points. She seems to prefer her privacy above all else. The only time Jordan records Trump having lost her cool was once when a reporter made a weak joke about Donald being able to name a child "Barron," but not having the authority to bestow the title "Baron."
I had understood that the story would include Trump renegotiating her prenup, but though the original prenup was mentioned, there's no talking a revision. The information on how Trump and Donald reconciled after a breakup isn't provided, nor is their decision to get married. I wonder if the book got chopped up before its final publication. Anyone have an early ARC???
June 28, 2020
I ordered and wanted to read this book in an effort to 'give Melania a break', because I truly do like and support strong women with good character. I am tired of reading over and over just how 'beautiful' she is because that is in the eye of the beholder, no? She is pretty, she is attractive, but she doesn't go into my view of beautiful. What did I learn from this book, something important to me, that she is more like her husband that I originally believed. She is a strong woman, that's for sure, she gets her way, she makes her point known, but her character, well..... I think overall they are a good match because they are each other's yin and yang. They lead separate lives, mainly under the same roof, but that works for them so who is to say. The main thing I feel though that they both share is ambition, status, and money, this is undeniable, they just each achieve it in different ways. She is He, but in a quieter, more reserved, more polite way. In the end, one hand washes the other!
July 2, 2020
I thought this book was well researched & reported, but not very exciting or insightful in who Mrs. Trump really is. But, maybe Mrs. Trump just doesn't have an interesting story to tell, I couldn't tell from this book. I still don't get what attracted her to Trump besides his money.
September 3, 2020
Much of this has been hinted or written about in lesser detail, but is now more validated by in-depth research. While this is not an attack book, there's lots of unflattering content, even though a lot of it is just guilt by association.
Her supporters will appreciate that most people interviewed say she's smart, always polite, drama free. She never shows her emotions, just walks away when she doesn't like something such as his infidelity. He chose her because she's loyal and he thinks she's low maintenance. They give each other space, she doesn't try to rein him. She knows she can't change him so doesn't try.
Her (or should I say his) detractors will gloat that she likely did not begin work here legally, which would therefore make her guilty of immigration fraud. The book said possibly she didn't know it was illegal and was misled by her modeling agency. So she either unknowingly committed fraud, or later knowingly attested to not having violated immigration policy in getting her green card and then citizenship. She publicly pushed the birther theory insisting on more details of Obama's citizenship but neither she nor her husband provided any promised proof of her "legal worker" paperwork.
It's obviously hypocritical that the same week her parents were naturalized, DJT was at rallies railing against chain migration. At the time, she wanted it made clear that "I need babysitting if I'm to do the work of the nation. I want my son to be in the hands of my parents. "
She lied about graduating college with architecture degree (actually she dropped out during her first year) in a court case seeking damages for the skin care line that didn't launch. The truth is unknown about a claim of speaking 5 languages since even pre-White House no one has heard her or seen video of her speaking French, German, Italian in her foreign travel, other than words like Bon Jour or Ciao.
There was lots of detail on Donald's dating history and behavior, and also about her nude modelling. Those sexy shots were mentioned as the possible reason she got her Einstein visa for having exceptional talents. Author says she was a product model, not fashion runway so no one in industry thinks she was the top of her field to qualify her for that, but you can submit letters from high profile people in support of your application, so it's surmised that was done on her behalf.
Since I hadn't known that he'd been public about running for president for at least 15 years before actually running, it now makes sense to me that she encouraged him to run. After 15 years of talking about it, she thought he should do it or drop it. And now after the humiliation of the impeachment, she supposedly wants to win another term as vindication.
Her quiet private life before him was a complete contrast to his arranging PR (often tabloid interviews) for his playboy reputation. They don't paint her as a gold-digger but she clearly enjoyed the early press for her career, travel and lifestyle perks. He often brought her to business meetings dressed to kill, and introduced her. Likely he enjoyed impressing men by having her at his beck & call, but also as a negotiating tactic. He knew that that they couldn't keep their eyes off her during the meetings and were distracted.
She's a relatively invisible 1st lady, with many blank dates on her published calendar, spending her time with her son and parents. This might take pressure off future first spouses, as they will not have to follow the proscribed patterns. At the two year mark of Be Best, there still weren't specific policy or legislative goals, and she had participated in few events specifically focused on children's online safety & cyberbullying originally announced as one of the main pillars. She's mostly silent on her husband's bullying and treatment of children at the border. Instead, she issues general statements like we need to do more for children, while her actions are more doing what she wants, such as visiting sick children in hospitals, whom she clearly cares for. Or the unfortunate timing of starting renovation of the White House tennis courts just as the COVID crisis was splashed all over the news.
After early days speculation about a shell shocked reluctant First Lady, the Free Melania theory is no more. The author thinks she's found her own footing, and even with the chaos, the shredding of national unity or even civility, she is loyal despite the criticism of them both, willingly chose him and this life and now willingly chooses to try for another 4 years.
Her supporters will appreciate that most people interviewed say she's smart, always polite, drama free. She never shows her emotions, just walks away when she doesn't like something such as his infidelity. He chose her because she's loyal and he thinks she's low maintenance. They give each other space, she doesn't try to rein him. She knows she can't change him so doesn't try.
Her (or should I say his) detractors will gloat that she likely did not begin work here legally, which would therefore make her guilty of immigration fraud. The book said possibly she didn't know it was illegal and was misled by her modeling agency. So she either unknowingly committed fraud, or later knowingly attested to not having violated immigration policy in getting her green card and then citizenship. She publicly pushed the birther theory insisting on more details of Obama's citizenship but neither she nor her husband provided any promised proof of her "legal worker" paperwork.
It's obviously hypocritical that the same week her parents were naturalized, DJT was at rallies railing against chain migration. At the time, she wanted it made clear that "I need babysitting if I'm to do the work of the nation. I want my son to be in the hands of my parents. "
She lied about graduating college with architecture degree (actually she dropped out during her first year) in a court case seeking damages for the skin care line that didn't launch. The truth is unknown about a claim of speaking 5 languages since even pre-White House no one has heard her or seen video of her speaking French, German, Italian in her foreign travel, other than words like Bon Jour or Ciao.
There was lots of detail on Donald's dating history and behavior, and also about her nude modelling. Those sexy shots were mentioned as the possible reason she got her Einstein visa for having exceptional talents. Author says she was a product model, not fashion runway so no one in industry thinks she was the top of her field to qualify her for that, but you can submit letters from high profile people in support of your application, so it's surmised that was done on her behalf.
Since I hadn't known that he'd been public about running for president for at least 15 years before actually running, it now makes sense to me that she encouraged him to run. After 15 years of talking about it, she thought he should do it or drop it. And now after the humiliation of the impeachment, she supposedly wants to win another term as vindication.
Her quiet private life before him was a complete contrast to his arranging PR (often tabloid interviews) for his playboy reputation. They don't paint her as a gold-digger but she clearly enjoyed the early press for her career, travel and lifestyle perks. He often brought her to business meetings dressed to kill, and introduced her. Likely he enjoyed impressing men by having her at his beck & call, but also as a negotiating tactic. He knew that that they couldn't keep their eyes off her during the meetings and were distracted.
She's a relatively invisible 1st lady, with many blank dates on her published calendar, spending her time with her son and parents. This might take pressure off future first spouses, as they will not have to follow the proscribed patterns. At the two year mark of Be Best, there still weren't specific policy or legislative goals, and she had participated in few events specifically focused on children's online safety & cyberbullying originally announced as one of the main pillars. She's mostly silent on her husband's bullying and treatment of children at the border. Instead, she issues general statements like we need to do more for children, while her actions are more doing what she wants, such as visiting sick children in hospitals, whom she clearly cares for. Or the unfortunate timing of starting renovation of the White House tennis courts just as the COVID crisis was splashed all over the news.
After early days speculation about a shell shocked reluctant First Lady, the Free Melania theory is no more. The author thinks she's found her own footing, and even with the chaos, the shredding of national unity or even civility, she is loyal despite the criticism of them both, willingly chose him and this life and now willingly chooses to try for another 4 years.
December 21, 2020
In all honesty, I am not sure that I am judging the book fairly. I started the book thinking I would have more compassion for Melania. In fact, I did. That was only because I read the second half of the book first. After reading the first part of the book my compassion plummeted.
The first half (before the pictures) made me understand why Mr and Mrs Trump are so compatible. They are both narcissistic. She is his quiet reserved yin and he is her loud mouthed yang. They both don’t have strong political beliefs, and they both will do whatever it takes to succeed.
I will concede, the author, presented an amazingly balanced account of Melania considering with what she had to work. If you want a quick read on a disgusting topic, this book is for you.
The first half (before the pictures) made me understand why Mr and Mrs Trump are so compatible. They are both narcissistic. She is his quiet reserved yin and he is her loud mouthed yang. They both don’t have strong political beliefs, and they both will do whatever it takes to succeed.
I will concede, the author, presented an amazingly balanced account of Melania considering with what she had to work. If you want a quick read on a disgusting topic, this book is for you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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