U.S. first lady Melania Trump delivers remarks regarding the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on April 9, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

New Delhi:

US President Donald Trump said his wife Melania Trump has always been “front of the scenes” person, in response to a reporter’s question on board the Air Force One. The President was asked if the First Lady seems to be taking on a “more public-facing role”, days after she attended Trump’s inauguration in a wide-brimmed hat that hid half her face.

Asked how he envisions her spending the next four years of his tenure, Trump said, “I think she was always very much involved, but you didn’t see her – more behind the scenes.”

Speaking about Melania and his visits to flood-hit North Carolina and wildfire-ravaged California, Trump said, “She felt badly about North Carolina, and she felt very badly about California. I have a lot of friends in North Carolina. And she and I both have a lot of friends in California.”

Questions were raised about Melania’s limited presence during Trump’s high-octane campaign trail ahead of the November 5 elections.

The White House, meanwhile, unveiled its official portrait of Melania featuring her in a suit, standing in front of a window with the Washington Monument in the background. The black and white portrait was taken by Regine Mahaux, a Belgian photographer who also photographed her 2017 portrait. The new portrait shows Melania standing over a desk with her fingers propped on the top.

Unlike her 2025 portrait, the first lady’s 2017 photo was in color and featured a close-up of her face.

Hours before the second inauguration of Donald Trump, Melania announced the launch of her cryptocurrency. “The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now,” she shared on X. The release of $MELANIA came closely after Mr Trump introduced his meme coin, which briefly impacted the value of $TRUMP. According to its official website, the $MELANIA cryptocurrency is built and tracked on the Solana blockchain. Meme coins are cryptocurrencies based characters, individuals or art.

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania are celebrating 20 years of marriage. From their first meeting at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998 to their current roles in the White House, their relationship has evolved significantly. To commemorate their anniversary, Trump shared a throwback wedding-day photo on X, writing, “Happy 20th Anniversary to Melania!”

Happy 20th Anniversary to Melania! pic.twitter.com/VIcXSQb4QO

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2025

In a separate post on the official POTUS account, Trump posted a picture of the couple and shared a tribute to Melania, writing, “Celebrating 20 years with my beautiful wife and our incredible First Lady, Melania. You’re an extraordinary wife and a wonderful mother. Happy Anniversary, @FLOTUS.”

Celebrating 20 years with my beautiful wife and our incredible First Lady, Melania. You’re an extraordinary wife and a wonderful mother.

Happy Anniversary, @FLOTUS! pic.twitter.com/BPTfeGpA7x

— President Donald J. Trump (@POTUS) January 22, 2025

Their relationship began when Trump, newly separated from his second wife, actress Marla Maples, met Melania, a Slovenian-born model. But Melania wasn’t immediately smitten. In a 2016 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, she recalled how she initially refused to give Trump her number, instead waiting for him to offer his. “I wanted to see what kind of number he would give me,” she explained.

At the time, Trump was navigating a divorce from Maples, which was finalised in 1999. Following this period of upheaval, Trump described Melania as “an amazing woman” and soon began a public relationship with her.

By 2004, the couple was at the Met Gala, where Trump surprised Melania with a proposal. “We are very happy together,” Melania told The New York Post after the engagement. They married in January 2005 in Palm Beach, Florida.

The couple’s desire to start a family soon followed. In a 2006 interview, Trump spoke of his excitement about becoming a father again. “I’m not going to be doing the diapers. She will be an unbelievable mother,” Trump said at the time. Their son, Barron William Trump, was born later that year.

Trump’s successful run for president in 2016 led to Melania taking on the role of First Lady. Praising her as an “amazing mother” at the time, Trump said he was confident she would also make an incredible First Lady. Melania and Barron moved into the White House in 2017, although they returned to their Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach before Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration.

With Trump back in the Oval Office for his second non-consecutive term, Melania has resumed her role as First Lady.

Donald Trump and Melania Trump dance

| Video Credit:
The Hindu

Shortly after being sworn-in as the 47th President of the United States of America, Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump danced during the Commander-in-Chief Ball at the Walter E. Washington Convention Centre in Washington.

They were joined by Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance. Later, Mr Trump and Mr Vance cut a large cake with swords.

Mr Trump then danced to the hit “Y.M.C.A” by 1970s disco band Village People, a staple in many of his campaign rallies.

Hours before the second inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, incoming First Lady Melania Trump announced the launch of her cryptocurrency.  

“The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now,” she shared on X.  

The release of $MELANIA follows closely after Mr Trump introduced his meme coin, which briefly impacted the value of $TRUMP before recovering it.  

According to its official website, the $MELANIA cryptocurrency is built and tracked on the Solana blockchain.  

Meme coins are cryptocurrencies inspired by characters, individuals, animals, or artwork.  

See the post here:

The Official Melania Meme is live!

You can buy $MELANIA now. https://t.co/8FXvlMBhVf

FUAfBo2jgks6gB4Z4LfZkqSZgzNucisEHqnNebaRxM1P pic.twitter.com/t2vYiahRn6

— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) January 19, 2025

The $Trump and $Melania coins have experienced value increases since their launch but are also subject to volatile trading. The Independent reported that their respective websites emphasize that these cryptocurrencies are “not intended to be, nor should they be considered,” investment opportunities or securities.   

Also Read| “When Sun Sets Tomorrow…”: Trump’s Big Vows Before Taking Over As President

The $Trump website describes the token as a symbol of support for the incoming president.  

“It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community,” Donald Trump said in a post on X.

The $Trump meme coin has a total market valuation of about $12 billion and the $Melania cryptocurrency stands at just over $2 billion, according to the CoinMarketCap website.

Mr Trump has proposed issuing an executive order as president to prioritize cryptocurrency policy, signalling a departure from the Biden administration’s approach, which focused on investigating the crypto industry over concerns related to fraud and money laundering.

The president-elect campaigned on a promise to end the “persecution” of the cryptocurrency industry and to establish the United States as the world’s “Bitcoin superpower.”

Washington DC:

Donald Trump, who is set to take charge as the 47th President of the United States of America, reached Washington on Sunday morning, ahead of his inauguration ceremony marking his return to the White House. The incoming President’s inaugural weekend began with a star-studded 500-member reception at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, which included his cabinet nominees Pete Hegseth and Lee Zeldin.

The incoming commander-in-chief posted a nearly 15-minute video from the event showcasing him and First Lady Melania standing beside each other on a balcony at his golf club and applauding the massive pyrotechnic display. Towards the end of the video, the soon-to-be President can be seen shaking his leg and performing one of his signature dance moves in front of the crowd.

Trump Inauguration Gala Details 

Celebrations Start -Mr Trump’s inaugural ceremony includes 18 galas, with three official events that the Present-elect is expected to attend. The celebrations kicked off with a gala at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia on Sunday. Following this, the President-elect arrived in Washington DC, where he’s expected to participate in a rally and a candlelit dinner with supporters today. 

On Sunday alone, Mr Trump is scheduled to hold a major “Make America Great Again Victory Rally” at Capital One Arena for his supporters. This will be the first such event in the US capital that Mr Trump will address since his speech at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021, which led to the Capital riots. Later in the evening, he is also scheduled to attend a candlelight dinner with his supporters.

The Inauguration Ceremony-  Mr Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States at 12 pm EST (10:30 pm IST) on Monday as the US Constitution mandates that each new president’s term begins at noon on January 20 (or the day after if it falls on a Sunday). The oath is most often administered by the Supreme Court chief justice, and Monday would mark John Roberts’s second time officiating for Trump.

The First Address- The new president is then expected to deliver an inaugural address, laying out his plans for the next four years. The Republican rang in his first term in 2017 by evoking “American carnage.” Incoming vice president JD Vance will also be sworn in during the event.

Inaugural Luncheon- Following the ceremony, the President, along with their spouse, Vice President, Senate leaders, and distinguished guests, would be escorted to Statuary Hall in the US Capitol for a celebratory luncheon hosted by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC). 

Oval Office Signings- In the first act as the President after taking the oath, Mr Trump is likely to participate in a traditional signing of executive orders, officially beginning his second administration. The incoming President has pledged to fulfil a number of his poll promises on Day 1 by signing executive orders, but it is not clear what issues will be first up. Mr Trump is likely to reinstate some executive orders from his first term that President Biden had revoked.

Inaugural Balls- The signing in the Oval Office will be followed by three official inaugural balls on Monday evening. Mr Trump is expected to attend all three galas — the Commander in Chief Ball, the Liberty Ball and the Starlight Ball. More than a dozen other events are also planned.

National Prayer Service- Mr Trump will be hosted by the Washington National Cathedral, the sexy day after his inauguration at 11 am (9:30 pm IST) on Tuesday for an interfaith prayer service. The service will mark the official conclusion of the inauguration celebrations.

Change In Swearing-In Venue

While US presidents traditionally assume their powers outdoors in front of the Capitol building, with a large crowd of spectators witnessing the ceremony, Mr Trump on Friday said he would move the event inside the Capitol Rotunda amid forecasts of extreme cold.

Crowd size is a preoccupation of  Mr Trump’s, but the last-minute switch to an indoor event may dent his bragging rights. More than 220,000 tickets were being distributed to the public before the incoming President’s announcement of shifting the venue to the Capitol Rotunda, which can accommodate only about 600 people.

Trump said supporters could watch a live feed from Washington’s Capital One sports arena, which holds up to 20,000 — and he promised to drop in later. “This will be a very beautiful experience for all,” the president-elect said.

Presidential Parade 

The president’s inaugural parade will be held inside for the first since 1985. The parade, which has followed the presidential entourage down Pennsylvania Avenue as far back as 1805, will march on inside Capital One Arena on Monday.

The move comes after Mr Trump on Friday announced that he would take oath and deliver his inaugural address inside the US Capitol Rotunda and promoted Capital One Arena as essentially a massive watch party venue for his oath of office and inaugural address

Musical Affair

Mr Trump’s inauguration 2.0 will be a star-studded affair, with country star Carrie Underwood singing “America the Beautiful” during the swearing-in ceremony.

Also performing will be country singer Lee Greenwood, whose patriotic anthem “God Bless the USA” is standard at Trump rallies.

A pre-inauguration rally on Sunday will include a performance by the Village People, whose 1970s-era “Y.M.C.A.” is another Trump event staple, in addition to Kid Rock and Billy Ray Cyrus. Country musicians including Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts and Gavin DeGraw plus the Village People will perform across Trump’s three official inaugural balls.

Inaugural Lunch

The event became an integral part of the day’s events in 1897, when the Senate Committee on Arrangements arranged a meal for President William McKinley, symbolizing the transition of power and the beginning of a new administration.

The menu for Donald Trump’s 2025 Inaugural Luncheon has not been revealed yet, but it is likely to follow patterns of previous occasions and may include the great American classic cuisines. As Mr Trump reportedly enjoys simple, savoury meals, he might include steak with some lobster, together with exquisite sweets. The Gulf shrimp and regional American flavours were part of his inauguration in 2017.

Guest List

The Republican has invited a number of tech titans to attend the inauguration, joining more traditional guests such as his cabinet nominees. Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will attend as will Shou Chew, the head of Chinese social media giant TikTok, according to US media.

Mr Trump has courted closer ties with the tech moguls, and his campaign benefited from disinformation spread on social media platforms such as TikTok, Musk’s X and Zuckerberg’s Facebook and Instagram.

Outgoing President Joe Biden will also attend the ceremony — despite Trump’s refusal to appear at Biden’s swearing-in when he beat Trump in 2020. All living former presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — will attend, as will their wives, except for Michelle Obama.

That means Hillary Clinton, whom Trump beat in the 2016 presidential election, in addition to Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he beat in November, will be there. 

Heads of state are not traditionally invited, but Trump has sent invitations to a handful of foreign leaders, including some who share his right-wing politics. Far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will attend, her office confirmed Saturday.

Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Argentine President Javier Milei and China’s Xi Jinping have also been invited, but not all will attend. 

Executive Orders

Mr Trump said he is preparing to sign multiple executive orders as early as his first day in office, aimed at undoing many of the Biden administration’s policies.

Among other promises, he has pledged to launch a mass deportation program and increase oil drilling. He has also said he might immediately begin pardoning January 6 rioters, his followers who ransacked the Capitol in 2021. Immediately after the inauguration a meeting is planned between US officials and foreign ministers from Japan, India and Australia, the so-called “Quad” which the Biden administration saw as a counterweight to an assertive China. 

Ahead of Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony as the 47th President of the United States on Monday, an Ohio artist has unveiled a giant 15-foot-tall, $1 million bronze statute of the Republican leader. Titled “The Patriot Statue of Donald J. Trump,” the statue was created by sculptor Alan Cottrill. It depicts the Presdient-elect’s iconic moment from July 13, when he defiantly pumped his fist after surviving an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The statue will tour across the country before being displayed at a future Trump presidential library, the New York Post reported. 

The statue was commissioned by several dozen wealthy crypto-currency investors as a tribute to Donald Trump, who they hope will be a friend of the industry. “We’re so proud of the statue we all worked so hard to complete. It turned out exactly as planned and is truly fit to match the man it’s dedicated to! Larger Than Life!!!” crypto community Patriot Token wrote while sharing the picture of the bronze statue on X. 

Take a look below: 

The first image of the finished PATRIOT Statue of @realDonaldTrump was published today.

We’re so proud of the statue we all worked so hard to complete. It turned out exactly as planned and is truly fit to match the man it’s dedicated to!

Larger Than Life!!! pic.twitter.com/CycaYX0K5l

— Patriot Token (@Patriot_Erc20) January 18, 2025

The six-ton statute was commissioned just a week after the shooting, as per the Post. It is set to be unveiled at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C, and It’s then expected to tour the country.

“People will be making a pilgrimage to see this thing. Trump has a fan base that I don’t think we’ve seen in a politician in a very long time,” said Brock Pierce, a crypto-billionaire who helped finance the project.

“We do expect President Trump to be with the statue at some point during the inauguration,” added Dustin Stockton, a conservative activist and unofficial spokesperson for the investors.

Notably, Donald Trump will formally return to the White House after his second inauguration as president of the United States on January 20. He won the US presidential elections with a landslide victory after defeating outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris. He is set to take over from the incumbent President Joe Biden.

 Along with Mr Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance will also be sworn into office on Monday. This day, traditionally known as Inauguration Day, is marked by events filled with pomp and celebration. The inauguration day events will include a formal swearing-in ceremony, musical performances, a celebratory parade and several formal balls.

Washington:

Melania Trump signaled she intends to mostly live in the White House when she returns to Washington as first lady next Monday, squelching speculation that she might split time between other residences.

When Donald Trump took office for the first time in 2017, his wife did not immediately join him at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, instead staying in New York until their then 11-year-old son Barron completed the school year.

“I will be in the White House,” Melania Trump told the “Fox & Friends” program in an interview aired Monday. “And when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. And when I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach.”

The Trumps are known to live at their lavish Manhattan apartment in Trump Tower as well as the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

Melania Trump was notably absent from Donald Trump’s side during much of the 2024 campaign, as well as during his New York trial in which he was convicted on 34 felony counts.

But she increased her public profile as the campaigning wrapped up and Trump emerged victorious.

As first lady once again, Melania Trump says she plans to ramp up her “Be Best” campaign for children’s wellbeing, a somewhat ill-defined cause that she promoted only sporadically during her husband’s first term.

“I will continue with Be Best and also I will expand Be Best,” she told the Fox program.

She will also release a movie about herself, which follows on the heels of the October publication of her remarkably tight-lipped memoir “Melania.”

She said the idea to make a film following her day-to-day life and return to the White House was her own.

“My life is incredible, it’s incredibly busy, and I told my agent, you know I have this idea, so please go out and make a deal for me.”

In returning to the role, Melania Trump said her top priorities are: “to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife.”

Barron, now in college in New York, will “come and visit,” she added.

But the White House will otherwise be occupied by just the couple.

“Maybe some people, they see me as just the wife of the president, but I’m standing on my own two feet, independent,” Melania Trump said, adding: “I don’t always agree with what my husband is saying or doing.”

“I give him my advice, and sometimes he listens, sometimes he doesn’t, and that’s OK.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jill Biden reached out to Melania Trump after an assassination attempt on her husband Donald Trump in Pennsylvania’s Butler City on July 13 this year. But Melania doubted whether Jill Biden’s concern was genuine because the first lady had called her husband “liar” and “evil” a few days before the call, New York Post reported.

“I do question, however, whether Jill’s concern was genuine, as a few days prior she referred to my husband as ‘evil’ and a ‘liar’,” Melania Trump said in an interview with French news outlet Paris Match before the November 5 presidential election in the US.

She added, “It was obvious that the onslaught of rhetoric from Democrat leaders and the mainstream media was so deeply embedded in our nation’s consciousness it prompted an attempt to assassinate Donald.”

Last week, Donald Trump secured another term in the White House, defeating his Democrat rival Kamala Harris. Not just Jill Biden, even the US President spoke to Donald Trump after the July 13 incident when a bullet grazed his right ear.

During the campaign, Melania remained away from the limelight and made public appearances towards the end of the election cycle following the release of a tell-all memoir.

One of her famous appearances during her husband’s third White House bid was at the Madison Square Garden rally, held a few days before the election.

She even opted out of the traditional tea between first ladies during the transition on Wednesday, while Donald Trump sat down with Joe Biden.

In a statement, Melania’s team said she won’t be attending the meeting while adding that her husband’s return to the “Oval Office to commence the transition process is encouraging, and she wishes him great success”.

Sources told the New York Post that one of the major reasons behind skipping the tea with Jill Biden was the 2022 FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago.

However, Melania has rubbished the rumours that she won’t be moving back into the White House with Donald Trump full-time in January 2025.

In the statement, her office stressed that several unnamed sources “continue to provide false, misleading, and inaccurate information.”

After her husband’s victory in 2016, Melania Trump met former first lady Michelle Obama for tea in the Yellow Room. However, she did not extend the same courtesy to Jill Biden after Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in 2020.

Washington DC:

Melania Trump will likely not call the White House her home for the next four years while her husband Donald Trump serves as the US President. Discussions are still ongoing about how and where the incoming first lady will spend her time in her unelected but high-profile role on the world stage, CNN reported, quoting multiple sources. 

In her first move toward bucking the traditions, 52-year-old Melania Trump has skipped the traditional and symbolic meeting with outgoing First Lady Jill Biden at the White House as President Joe Biden hosts the president-elect in the Oval Office on Wednesday (November 13).

Sources attributed Ms Trump’s absence to a prior scheduling conflict related to her eponymous memoir, and her office also confirmed on X that she would not attend the meeting.

The move indicates that Ms Trump, who had already spent four years in the White House, will have even more autonomy the second around.

“I’m not anxious because this time is different. I have much more experience and much more knowledge. I was in the White House before. When you go in, you know exactly what to expect,” Ms Trump recently told Fox News during a friendly interview while promoting her book.

FLOTUS TO SPEND TIME IN NYC, FLORIDA

In her second go-round as first lady, she is reportedly planning to spend the majority of her time between New York City and Palm Beach, Florida. However, despite her absence from the White House, Ms Trump would still likely be present at major events and would have her own platform and priorities as first lady.

“Melania Trump has developed a life and circle of friends in Florida over the past four years and is likely to continue to spend a lot of her time there,” CNN report quoted sources as saying.

The incoming first lady is also likely to spend a significant amount of time at Trump Tower in New York, where her son Barron Trump, 18, is attending New York University.

Her Husband also doesn’t have any qualms with her absence and there “is no internal backlash among the president-elect’s team,” a source told CNN.

Speculation about Melania Trump’s living situation have swirled for months. In June, Axios reported that if the Republican leader returned to the White House, his wife would live elsewhere—perhaps at Mar-a-Lago, where the president-elect is expected to spend a large amount of time, or in Manhattan, where her son is studying.

If reports are true, Melania will become a trend breaker, as all of her predecessors—aside from Anna Symmes Harrison, whose husband died a month into his term, and Bess Truman, who lived across the street during renovations—have lived predominantly in the White House since it was built in 1800.