It may have taken four years, but even Melania couldn’t escape the self-inflicted taint of being a Trump

 

Last week Politico reported that in the aftermath of the violent coup attempt incited by Donald Trump, many administration staffers were concerned about their future job prospects. A few—like Betsy DeVoss and Elaine Chao—decided to make a belated “statement” by resigning their cabinet positions. But there remained that hardcore element to the very end. “Some Trump aides scoffed at those who chose to leave,” it was reported and “that to work for Trump is to know and endure scandal.” One dedicated Trumpist still on duty claimed that “I personally think Charlottesville was worse than what happened yesterday and if you didn’t resign after that, it’s kind of a chickenshit move to do it 14 days before the transfer of power. It shows a lot of selfishness. ‘Let’s make it about me. I’m resigning because I don’t like what happened.’”

This “senior Trump administration official” chose the coward’s way by remaining anonymous, and there are some obvious candidates about who this faker might be, like Stephen Miller and Peter Navarro. This person actually thinks that Charlottesville was “worse” than the violent attempt to overthrow the duly elected government? That knowing Trump is corrupt through-and-through is “just a thing”? That it is “selfish” not to have “endured” just one more scandal, undoubtedly the worst by far?  And no, this isn’t about “me,” it is about Trump.

One would be hard pressed to find anyone who was not damaged by their association with Trump, and they only have themselves to blame. Look at Sen. Lindsey Graham; didn’t he say after the coup attempt that he had done everything he could for Trump, but “enough was enough”? But then this week he spinelessly demonstrated that there was still more he could do for his Fuehrer, and travelled to Texas with him to “celebrate” Trump’s “beautiful wall.” Remember that Graham had once been part of a bi-partisan immigration reform bill, and disagreed with Trump’s draconian “merit-based” plan—that is before Miller and John Kelly reminded Trump that his base didn’t like immigrants from “shithole” countries, and Graham subsequently became just another Trump sycophant and hypocrite for whom “principle” is a dirty word.

But there must be someone who stood above the fray, whose personal character was strong enough to remain upright and withstand the gale force winds of unending moral and ethical corruption, right? I bet that a lot of people thought that person might be Melania Trump. She always seemed a bit aloof, not wanting to play at being “first lady.” Many people interpreted her aloofness as a measure of a poor or deteriorating relationship with her husband—that she was actually discomfited by his vile words and deeds.

Man, were we wrong. We should have taken Melania at her word when she wore this jacket to observe the living conditions of children penned-up in Trump’s concentration camps:

Doesn’t it look like someone decided to ruin a perfectly good jacket by taking a can of white paint and brushing that on? Why would you put on display your despicable failure of simple human decency unless that was your true feelings? In her book Melania and Me, Stephanie Wolkoff wrote “When asked to answer for her husband’s cruel family-separation policy that ripped children from the arms of their parents and guardians at the border, the First Lady responded, ‘Give me a fucking break.’” Wolkoff wrote in The Daily Beast that “I Really Don’t Care” is her personal mantra.

Wolkoff claimed that Melania Trump was “unapologetically skin-deep,” and just as narcissistic as her husband: “In her free time she took up 'albuming' and made scrapbooks filled with photographs of herself. Melania is simply an extension of her husband, just as hypocritical, speaking out of both sides of her mouth, when it suits her best.”

While her husband brags of not even allowing a single drop of immigration from the Central American spigot, Melania Trump violated the terms of her initial visitor’s visa and made false claims on her application for permanent visa status that should have caused her to be deported; instead, as someone not from a “shithole” country she received an EB-1 visa—the so-called “Einstein Visa.” Wolkoff writes “Millions idolized her and believed in her, but why? Name one thing that she actually accomplished. Try.” She worked as a fashion model, but the only “extraordinary” talent required is to have that “look”—and she was never “extraordinary” enough to even achieve “supermodel” status.

As awful a human being as her husband is, Melania isn’t much better: “Many still believe that Melania is powerless, but don’t be fooled” writes Wolkoff. “She is an abuser too, of the worst kind. The kind that speaks kindly to children. The sickness is under the skin. Melania knows and supports Donald and his viewpoints. If you hit him, he’ll hit you back harder. He’s the brass knuckles, aggressive guy, and she elects to grin and bear it. She turns a blind eye. The truth is she’s actually encouraging him to go for it. Be aggressive. She’s his biggest cheerleader.”

When Melania Trump wasn’t “standing by her man,” she was complaining about decorating the White House Christmas tree: “Who gives a fuck about the Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, right?” Some people actually thought that was “refreshing”; in actuality it shows us a person who is completely self-involved and prefers to spend her time “decorating” herself. Of course, when she wants to put in a little effort to leave her “mark” on the world, it has predictably disastrous results, as in leaving her “personal touch” on the Rose Garden. I wrote about this last September; the new “Rose” Garden is bereft of color and life, and one would be hard-pressed to find any actual roses, save for the barely perceptible ones on the periphery of a large, empty space. It says much about the personality of the person who “designed” this:

Still, we might have allowed Melania Trump to drift away into the obscurity she deserves, save for her behavior during and after last week’s coup attempt. Completely oblivious to what much of the rest of world was seeing, she was overseeing photographs taken of White House rugs to be used in a photo book. CNN reported that in contrast to calling for “peace and calm” during the summer, White House staff found her too consumed with her vanity project than have anything to say about the coup attempt.

Naturally, the thin-skinned Melania responded to media reports about her disinterest in her husband’s attempt to overthrow the election with a post that she clearly did not write, but apparently insured that one paragraph reflected her “true “feelings.” After the tone-deafness of feeling sorrow for four of the violent insurgents who died—three of them being trampled after they fell down while they stormed the Capitol Building—Melania Trump managed to twist it all into a little ball of profound self-pity:

I am disappointed and disheartened with what happened last week. I find it shameful that surrounding these tragic events there has been salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me – from people who are looking to be relevant and have an agenda. This time is solely about healing our country and its citizens. It should not be used for personal gain.

Not surprisingly this proved to be as much the “last straw” for people giving Melania Trump the “benefit of the doubt,” just as inciting the coup was the “last straw” for some Trump supporters. But it was much too late for recriminations; no one, including Melania, can escape censure. She is just as cruel, shallow and selfish as her husband, only without the power to have opened up people’s eyes to it long ago.