# Melania Trump is gone (largely missing in public, not deceased) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [May 10, 2025, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217 "2025-05-10T13:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/43 "2025-05-11T02:42:13Z")
A woman who is a wife, no matter what hubs does, Can and should be an asset. She should support him, he should support her in her endeavors, as well. I’m assuming most men here have not been wives. You gotta know to know. The wife of the president can do great things or they can flop like Melania’s “Be Best” campaign. Nancys “Just say no” was so known, it turned into a joke. I don’t know if it was successful. But, dang everyone knew about it. There were a couple First Ladies who went on to be senators and other elected officials. They are not useless, by far. I bet some were actually running the whole show. Women are great at multitasking. IMO ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/44 "2025-05-11T02:48:37Z")
Oh, I agree. Maybe this is how he makes a statement about Trump. It’s probably good he doesn’t talk too much. I can’t remember, wasn’t he famous for big faux pas? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/45 "2025-05-11T03:12:23Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > A woman who is a wife, no matter what hubs does, > Can and should be an asset. > She should support him, he should support her in her endeavors, as well. That’s quite an overly broad statement. I don’t think RFKjr’s wife should be supporting him through his endeavors. I don’t think Vance’s wife should be supporting him either, but like Melania, she seems to be an awful person. Cheryl Hines used to seem like she had some integrity, but it’s been missing for awhile. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I’m assuming most men here have not been wives. You gotta know to know. Whatever does this mean? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/46 "2025-05-11T03:23:36Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > I think GW doesn’t want to normalize an authoritarian regime. Why he will not go the next step, and criticize it, is possible to guess at but hard to really understand. The sense I have, from the few times W has said anything on the topic, is that he seems to feel a certain responsibility to respect the office, even if he has no respect for the person holding the office. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/47 "2025-05-11T03:41:43Z")
I mean, if I were in her position right now, I’d be laying as low as I could as well. I wouldn’t want to have my name associated with any of this, and if it gets ugly, I’d want to be able to point at the fact that I hadn’t supported my husband at all in public. > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > I think GW doesn’t want to normalize an authoritarian regime. Why he will not go the next step, and criticize it, is possible to guess at but hard to really understand. All I can come up with is that if he criticizes Trump, he feels like he’s tarnishing his own legacy somehow. Which seems absurd, but who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/48 "2025-05-11T04:55:56Z")
> [@bump](#): > > All I can come up with is that if he criticizes Trump, he feels like he’s tarnishing his own legacy somehow. Which seems absurd, but who knows? All I know, is, if it weren’t for trump, W would be the worst president. He and Cheney should be in a supermax. ---
**Author:** ![sjankis630](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ea924/32.png) [@sjankis630](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjankis630)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/49 "2025-05-11T05:45:41Z")
Oh you don’t have to worry about ole Melania she is doing just fine with that $40 million dollar deal from Amazon for her life story that everyone is clamoring for. I also read that they are doing a short theatrical release where companies can add themselves to the credits for a certain $$ donation… > **[Inside Melania Trump's 'eye-watering' multi-million dollar deal with Amazon...](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/us-news-inside-melania-trumps-mysterious-multi-million-dollar-deal-with-amazon-that-has-sparked-hollywood-meltdown-jeff-bezos/articleshow/120902955.cms?from=mdr)** > > Amazon Prime Video will release a documentary about Melania Trump. Amazon reportedly paid $40 million to license the film. But more than the unbelievable Amazon prime payday is the director of the documentary Bret Ratner who has been accused of... ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/50 "2025-05-11T06:56:13Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I can’t remember, wasn’t he famous for big faux pas? Compared to the current guy, he was a scholar. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/51 "2025-05-11T08:22:30Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Mostly. I think there’s a good case to be made for Edith Wilson having been the de facto POTUS after Woodrow Wilson’s stroke. Was she the racist her husband was? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/52 "2025-05-11T11:13:29Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Women are great at multitasking. And men are not, of course. How does this statement sound to you: “Men are great at decision-making”. mmm ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/53 "2025-05-11T11:46:09Z")
Well, “great at being decisive” would be fair - but not necessarily commendatory (any more than “great at multitasking”, which says nothing about how well the various tasks are done) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/54 "2025-05-11T17:52:50Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I did see that she appeared at a ceremony unveiling a stamp for Barbara Bush. Wow, that’s a seriously flattering image of Barb. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/55 "2025-05-12T03:32:30Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Why should the spouse of a politician be given any title or status? President is just another government job, and like any job, it ends at the office. As noted by others, “First Lady” isn’t an official title or status in the US government. It’s an unofficial title (one that has also been used for, [e.g., the wife of the president of Israel](https://www.president.gov.il/en/first-lady/)). I think pretending that high-ranking politicians’ wives have no official role whatsoever is somewhat problematic, and feeds into stereotyped expectations of women’s uncompensated labor. If a spouse like Sara Netanyahu (to take another example besides the first lady Michal Herzog) is expected to host and attend state dinners with her husband, then it’s not entirely true that his job “ends at the office”. Yes, high-ranking spouses shouldn’t get official titles and responsibilities automatically, because they’re not chosen in accordance with political protocols of election or appointment. And yet, they are definitely part of the functioning of government in its diplomatic and PR manifestations. So ISTM that having an unofficial but standard designation like “First Lady” is probably the best available compromise for negotiating that ambiguity. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/56 "2025-05-12T05:49:30Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I think pretending that high-ranking politicians’ wives have no official role whatsoever is somewhat problematic, and feeds into stereotyped expectations of women’s uncompensated labor. If a spouse like Sara Netanyahu (to take another example besides the first lady Michal Herzog) is expected to host and attend state dinners with her husband, then it’s not entirely true that his job “ends at the office”. Note that there are few people in the world I despise more than Sara Netanyahu, which may have informed the opinions I’ve expressed in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/57 "2025-05-12T11:14:12Z")
She’s busy working on her next initiative, “Be Bester”. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/58 "2025-05-12T12:18:44Z")
[![](https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Babylon-5-Walter-Koenig-Albert-Bester-900x506.jpg) ](https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Babylon-5-Walter-Koenig-Albert-Bester-900x506.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/59 "2025-05-12T12:30:22Z")
I must be missing something with that photo. Isn’t that a picture of a young Walter Koenig (Chekhov from the original _Star Trek_)? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/60 "2025-05-12T12:36:09Z")
It’s an older Koenig from his appearance on the 1990s TV show _Babylon 5_, where he played a telepathic villain called “Alfred Bester”. (Named after the writer, of course). ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/61 "2025-05-12T12:38:40Z")
Well, it seems to me that democratic First Ladies have had more personality and more exposure than their republican counterparts. I think of Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Jackie Kennedy in particular. I can’t think of a single republican counterpart that is remotely close. My theory, and it is solely a theory based on feeling, is that part of the republican mantra about “family values” is that the woman walks behind and supports her man. Outside of Melania, I can’t think of the name of a single republican First Lady. Part of the democratic mantra, however, is the equality of women and the importance of their contributions to our society. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217/62 "2025-05-12T12:44:40Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Outside of Melania, I can’t think of the name of a single republican First Lady. Come on. Nancy Reagan was super high profile with her anti drug activism. Betty Ford and alcoholism. The Betty Ford Center. Barbara Bush was well known and classy. Laura Bush was behind the scenes but as a former school librarian worked on literacy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-is-gone-largely-missing-in-public-not-deceased/1018217.md?page=4)