New
York (AFP) - A year after moving into the White House with her young
son to rejoin her husband, Melania Trump -- this most enigmatic of
presidential wives -- demonstrated once more this week she is anything
but the typical US first lady.
As
the United States grapples with a political crisis sparked by the
forcible separation of migrant children from their parents, the
48-year-old ex-model and Slovenian immigrant flew to
Texas in a bid to quell the firestorm.
Texas in a bid to quell the firestorm.
Except
her stated desire for children to reunite with their parents as quickly
as possible was overshadowed by her choice of plane-boarding attire -- a
jacket emblazoned with the words "I really don't care. Do U?"
Instead
of feting the rare frugal choice by the wife of a billionaire -- a $39
off-the-peg number from Zara -- the internet was convulsed with outrage
over the choice and speculation as to why she wore it . . . . . . It
was a week that saw Melania make a rare foray into politics, saying
that she hated to see families separated. Stopping short of criticizing
her husband's policies, she called for bipartisan immigration reform to
fix the issue.
"It
was incredibly brave of her," said Jeanne Zaino, professor of political
science at Iona College. "She is establishing her own voice on these
issues and it is a voice that is not echoing her husband's voice or the
Republicans."
She
then reportedly lobbied her husband to reverse his policy, culminating
in Wednesday's executive order banning the separation of children, but
with no guidance on how to reunite the 2,300 already split from their
relatives.
"Melania
is almost closer to the first lady in some of the TV shows... like
'House of Cards'... where the first lady is a lot different from the
traditional first lady," mused Zaino. "She is a fascinating figure."
