First lady Melania Trump has not been a central figure in her husband’s second term as president, according to new reporting from The New York Times.
The outlet claims that President Donald Trump’s wife has spent fewer than 14 days at the White House since her husband took office in January, with some sources even calling that estimate generous.
Katherine Jellison, a historian and first lady expert, told the Times: “We haven’t seen such a low-profile first lady since Bess Truman, and that’s going way back in living human memory, nearly 80 years ago.”
Melania has made a handful of political appearances during Donald’s second term.
She spoke out against cyberbullying and revenge pornography during a congressional roundtable in early March and presented honors during the International Women of Courage Awards in April. She also attended the White House Easter Egg Roll.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty
Melania Trump awards Amat Al-Salam Al-Hajj during the International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony on April 1, 2025
The president and first lady traveled together to attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome on April 26, which happened to fall on Melania’s 55th birthday. However, as a practicing Catholic, sources said she was “honored” to celebrate the late religious leader.
“She respected the pope,” a social source told PEOPLE at the time. “It is a sad time for Catholics around the world, and the first lady is honored to go to the funeral.”
Melania’s absence from Washington, D.C., isn’t a change of pace from Donald’s first term, when she spent ample time at Trump Tower in Manhattan so as not to disrupt their son Barron’s school schedule.
Prior to her husband’s second term, Melania was clear about her plans to split time between the White House, their Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, and New York City, as Barron started his freshman year at NYU.
“I will be in the White House. And when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach,” she said in a Jan. 13 interview on Fox & Friends. “My first priority is to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife.”
John Moore/Getty
Donald, Melania and Barron Trump celebrate election night on Nov. 6, 2024
Unlike more politically active recent first ladies like Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, Melania has seemingly always planned to be a hands-off presidential spouse.
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In February, a longtime social source told PEOPLE that the former model “couldn’t care less how she looks politically.”
“She doesn’t believe she has obligations in the political world,” the source added.
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