Melania Trump is no stranger to having all eyes on her. As a former model, she has been photographed, and seen in person around the world. Mrs. Trump has done still photo's as well as walking the runway. She has posed nude, and in one suggestive photo with another woman. She is also married to one of those most visible men in the world. Melania however, refused to walk down the runway at the annual first lady's lunch that was held in her honor this past Friday, May 5th.
Breaking tradition
The event was hosted by the Congressional Club, and held at the Washington Hilton.
Attendees watched as Melania Trump broke the long standing Tradition for the first lady to walk down the runway. She instead waited until everyone else was seated, and then she went to her own seat. On February 10th of this year, the FLOTUS broke another tradition of president's wives. She was not on hand to host the first lady of Japan, Akie Abe.
Melania, unlike her predecessors, did not lend much support to her husband when he was on the campaign trail. Most notably, she did not immediately move to Washington D.C. when Donald Trump was elected president. She has been quietly moving forward, and taking part in functions such as the annual Easter egg roll, and being on hand to honor the teacher of the year.
Still, refusing to walk down the runway for an event that is specifically for a first lady looks bad.
From model to president's wife
In her modeling career, certainly Mrs. Trump could pick and choose her projects. She may even have had managers who negotiated on her behalf. Someone should tell her that being first lady of the United States does not operate in quite the same way.
As the president's wife, there are no formal must-do responsibilities. There are however, a number of long standing traditions that previous wives of president's adhered to. It's just good form.
Melania is the wife of a very unpopular Commander-in-Chief. She would do well to be as gracious a host as possible, and also take part in as many traditional first lady roles as she is able.
Breaking tradition could cause some to see her as unapproachable, and unwilling to fulfill her duties. With her husband's approval rating dropping, Mrs. Trump may desire to stay as far away as possible from the limelight. She might want to do just the opposite by endearing herself to the American people, and not causing animosity to come her way, as her spouse is doing.
