US First Lady Melania Trump had said in a 2018 interview how she hoped “people would focus on what I do, not what I wear”. However, that has never happened. Ever since President Donald Trump's swearing-in ceremony, media — both mainstream and social — has been talking about the navy double-breasted coat she wore at the do, along with the matching wide-brimmed hat that gave people little chance to gauge her reactions.


The world saw a smiling Melania next to Donald Trump at the events that followed, including the Commander-in-Chief ball.


She has said little so far since, but experts are saying her second term is going to be different than her first, which she is reported to have admitted in private came with an overwhelming array of duties she hadn’t fully anticipated.     


“It’s really clear that she has a confidence that we didn’t necessarily see the first time around,” former journalist Kate Bennett, author of “Free, Melania” who chronicled her first term, is quoted as saying in a CNN report. "She understands not only what’s at stake for this administration, but what’s at stake for her."


Quoting sources, the report says the world would see Melania, who is known to be a very private person, in a "more prominent role".  


Though she was rarely seen after Donald Trump's 2020 defeat and during the 2024 campaign trail ahead of the US presidential elections, she reportedly spent the time since the declaration of the results intensely preparing for her return to the White House, according to the CNN report, which also says she studied foreign affairs, and joined Donald Trump at the dinners they hosted for VIPs at the latter's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida's Palm Beach.


This time, Melania Trump plans to live and work full time in the White House, she has already said in an interview.


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Melania Trump's East Wing Plans


During the next four years, she Melania Trump is expected to be seen travelling a lot, dividing her time between Washington, New York, and Palm Beach.  


"When I need to be in New York, I will be in New York," she told Fox News recently. "When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach. But my first priority is, you know, to be a mom, to be a First Lady, to be a wife." 


The White House is set to see her more often, especially at the major events, unlike the last time when she did not immediately shifted to the White House after her husband's inauguration in 2017. 


"This time I have everything. I have the plans. I could move in. I already packed. I already selected the, you know, furniture that needs to go in," she told "Fox and Friends" earlier this month. 


Melania also plans to continue working on her “Be Best” initiative, which targets mental health issues among the youth and use of social media.


Her staff strength at East Wing, a two-storey structure in the White House that serves as the office of the First Lady and her staff, was small last time around, unlike some of her recent predecessors, and that's not going to change this time too, with Hayley Harrison as her chief of staff.


"I have a few positions that I still need to hire. I will not rush into that," Melania said in the interview to the channel known to be friendly to the Trumps. "I don’t want to hire too many people on my team and spend too much taxpayer money.” The new hires, she said, would not have "their own agenda". 


The First Lady has already indicated she is enjoying her time as a public figure, and that she would be more visible in her second outing.


Incidentally, there won't be Ivanka Trump around the West Wing this time. Her eldest stepdaughter, who was a senior adviser during Trump's last term, would prefer a private life back in Miami, media reports have said.


“With the absence of Ivanka, Melania may feel more empowered to be the female figurehead of this administration,” the CNN reported cited above quotes Kate Bennett as saying.


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Melania Trump Documentary On Amazon 


The world started to see a lot of Melania Trump after she released a series of videos, just before the launch of her autobiography, 'Melania', in October 2024. It soon became a "No. 1 New York Times bestseller". 


And shortly after the US election results were announced in November, Amazon signed a multimillion-dollar deal with her to film a documentary, which is set to release later this year. The film, with Melania Trump as an executive producer, will also play in theatres, it is learnt. 


As reported by CNN, there were signs of documentary crews around her during the inauguration events. 


That she is aiming for a more visible second term was proved also when Melania Trump unveiled her own cryptocurrency just ahead of the inauguration. The non-fungible token, available for purchase, featured her smiling image, with her hands partially covering her face.


"I just feel that people didn't accept me maybe (the last time)," she told Fox. "They didn't understand me the way maybe they do now. And I didn't have much support." 
She said some people might have seen her as "just a wife of the president" then, but "I'm standing on my own two feet, independent". 
Melania added: "I have my own thoughts. I have my own yes and no. I don't always agree what my husband is saying or doing. And that's OK."