Well, I was in 2nd grade when Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, so I’ll admit that probably is the main reason.
The spouse of President of the US does:
The first lady has her own staff, including the White House social secretary, the chief of staff, the press secretary, the chief floral designer, and the executive chef. The Office of the First Lady is also in charge of all social and ceremonial events of the White House, and is a branch of the Executive Office of the President.
In Canada, we occasionally get American media and some Wikipedia editors referring to the spouse of the Prime Minister as Canada’s first lady.
Until it’s pointed out that:
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Just because Americans use that term doesn’t mean every other country in the world does;
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The spouse of the Prime Minister comes third in protocol, after the spouse of the monarch (currently Queen Camilla) and the spouse of the governor general (currently Mr. Whit Fraser), so the term “first lady” is inaccurate in any case.
To quote her jacket: “I don’t care. Do you?”
“Asset”–{SNERK}
Moderating:
We are trying to get away from that sort of sexist comment. Thanks.
(wrong thread)
And, at least as far as I am able to judge as a foreigner, she richly deserves the place she holds in your esteem.
No, that is not the spouse of the President, that is the First Lady. Even if traditionally the spouse of the president there is zero requirement for that to be so, and indeed, earlier in this thread I listed a number of “First Ladies” who were NOT the spouse of the President.
So… in US terms she’d be the Third Lady?
I assume the US media messes that up because in the US “First Lady” is often (but not always) “spouse of the head of state”. Which is not so much an excuse as an explanation.
And, with the exception of the then-teenaged Susan Ford briefly filling in for her mother, the U.S. “First Lady” has always also been the president’s wife, for the lifetimes of most of us.
Of course, it’s hard for a wife to serve as First Lady while dead, which explains some of them.
From your cite:
The first lady is not an elected position; it carries no official duties and receives no salary.
Melanoma’s bronze alter-ego is definitely missing:
“…which was set on fire…”
Every time I read that, I snigger. I mean, I don’t think arson is a good thing, but I am willing to make exceptions.
This was late night posting spellchecker at work; not intentional.
You’re too much of a fair minded gentleman, that version’s a common sight around these parts anyway.
Apparently there was also a wooden sculpture of Trump, built around the same time as the Melania wooden sculpture.
It too got burnt.
The role of the spouse of the President is recognised by federal statute as fulfilling a governmental function:
On November 2, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed Public Law 95-570. This codified and clarified the authority for hiring staff for the White House Office and the Executive Residence. It also formally authorized assistance and services to the spouse of the President “in connection with assistance provided by such spouse to the President in the discharge of the President’s duties and responsibilities.” If the President has no spouse, another family member could be designated by the President to receive the assistance and services.
The spouse has office space in the White House, provided at the taxpayers’s expense, to carry out those duties. The spouse also has an extensive staff, to assist in carrying out the spouse’s statutorily recognised function of assisting the President of the United States. The spouse also has a formal name for her group of staffers: the Office of the First Lady.
in 2024, the most recent year available, the spouse of the President had a staff of 24, with salaries of $2,398,819, paid for by the taxpayers.
Those taxpayer funded staff all provide services to the spouse of the President, under her overall direction:
- Advisor to the Senior Advisor to the First Lady
- Communications Coordinator for the Office of the First Lady
- Communications Director for the First Lady
- Deputy Associate Policy Director for the Office of the First Lady
- Deputy Communications Director for the Office of the First Lady
- Deputy Policy Director for the Office of the First Lady
- Director of Policy and Projects for the First Lady
- Executive Director of Joining Forces for the Office of the First Lady
- Press Secretary for the First Lady
- Senior Advisor for Joining Forces for the Office of the First Lady
- Senior Advisor for Women’s Health for the Office of the First Lady
- Senior Advisor on Cancer for the Office of the First Lady
- Senior Advisor on Foreign Policy for the Office of the First Lady
- Senior Advisor on Workforce Development and Education for the Office of the First Lady
- Senior Advisor to the First Lady
- Senior Policy Advisor for the Office of the First Lady
- Senior Presidential Speechwriter for the First Lady
- Special Assistant for Policy and Communications for the Office of the First Lady
- Speechwriter for the Office of the First Lady
- Staff Assistant for Scheduling and Advance for the Office of the First Lady
- Trip Director for the Office of the First Lady
What do you call someone who is recognised by federal law as playing a public role in the executive branch to assist the President of the United States, who has an Office to carry out her functions, who has extensive public office space at the heart of the executive branch, paid for at public expense, who controls a staff of 24, with salaries paid for by the taxpayer, all to assist that individual to carry out the duties recognised by federal statute?
Sounds like a government official to me.
Somebody needs to sic DOGE on that. Way too much overlap and waste!