Just over a year ago, I wrote a column about Melania Trump and her entrance into first lady-hood.
I was excited and intrigued. Despite her husband’s somewhat outlandish and abrasive politics, I hoped Melania would pull through, making her membership in the first ladies club a success within a year or so.
Well, it has been a year and not much has changed. Melania is still an enigma — a conundrum compared to her outspoken husband.
While the president drummed on, his approval ratings dropped and investigations into his private dealings took over media headlines, Melania has still largely remained silent.
In her first year, Melania stayed close to home. For the first six months of the presidency, she took shelter in the confines of Trump Tower in New York with her son.
Hailey Stewart | Argonaut
Her vision of her job was different than most first ladies. Rather than spend much time in the spotlight, she decided to spend the time with her 11-year-old son, Barron — a dissimilar, yet admirable way to spend her first year compared to past first ladies.
This translated into her somewhat vague, but still a work in progress messages relating to younger generations and children all over the world. Much of Melania’s work has related to cyberbullying and education for young children — digital natives who were born with hands ready to tweet.
Her stance on cyber bullying feels strange next to the president’s excessive tweeting. And, her presence in photos next to him often reads cold.
But, maybe the problem isn’t Melania. The problem is what it “means” to be the first lady.
I’ve always admired first ladies — often more so than the sitting president.
Yes, the first lady’s public approval rating is usually higher than her husband’s. And yes, the first lady role is largely seen as the one to pick out the china patterns and host lavish parties in America’s most notable house.
Think of Michelle Obama, Nancy Reagan, Eleanor Roosevelt or Jackie Kennedy. They, among many other first ladies, are well-remembered for their politics, their involvement, their style and their ability to stand out against their husbands.
In respect to the presidency, the only definition given to the first lady is the wife or hostess of the chief executive of a country or jurisdiction. That means very little in the historical context of what a “successful” first lady should embody.
The definition does not state the first lady should express her husband’s same politics. The definition does not state the first lady should always look perky next to her husband in photos. The definition of first lady really states nothing.
While Melania still searches for the meaning of her own definition of first lady, women, especially, should be the first ones to support her trajectory through a rocky presidency.
Although Melania’s first year as first lady was a little slow, rocky even, I’m still hoping she will find her footing at some point.
Even if Melania has yet to fully show her politics and become what the first lady has traditionally been for the U.S., her changing the way we view a first lady could have a lasting impact — one that might just be what we remember her for.
Hailey Stewart can be reached at arg-opinion@uidaho