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Melania: What kind of first lady will Donald Trump's wife be?
Former model's style evokes her White House predecessors Jackie Kennedy and Nancy Reagan
If the current round of reports are to be believed, Melania Trump, wife of US President Donald, is "miserable" in her new role as First Lady of the United States.
Friends, insiders, staffers and stylists are queuing up to give their take on the former model's malaise.
"This life wasn't her dream. It was Donald's," stylist and friend of the pair Phillip Bloch told gossip magazine Us Weekly.
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There has been a flurry of support and sympathy for the 46-year-old following a meme showing her smiling broadly at her husband during his inauguration and then looking downcast as soon as he turns away. It even led to the hashtag #SaveMelania trending on Twitter.
But does the First Lady need saving? Melania's style "evokes Jackie Kennedy and Nancy Reagan", says The Guardian, so perhaps the world just needs to adjust to a new - or perhaps slightly older - vision of the presidential wife.
Children first
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Melania's first act as First Lady was to leave her husband in Washington DC and return to the family home in New York so ten-year-old son Barron could complete his school year. This also offers several months of breathing room for the pair as they adjust to the glare of media interest in their every movement.
But beyond her desire to support her child, Melania's early speeches and social media posts suggest children's welfare in general will be at the top of her agenda.
During the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie, Melania tweeted that adults have a responsibility to empower their children.
Meanwhile, throughout her husband's presidential campaign, Melania said offering support to children being bullied online would be a central pillar of her public service.
In a campaign speech five days before the election, the future first lady said she would work to combat a social media culture that had become "too mean and too tough" and was filled with insults based on "looks and intelligence".
(Image credit: David McNew/Getty Images)
She added: "It is never OK when a 12-year-old girl or boy is mocked, bullied or attacked. It is terrible when it happens on the playground, and it is absolutely unacceptable when it is done by someone with no name hiding on the internet. We have to find a better way to talk to each other."
However, a chorus of critics, led by US singer Lady Gaga, said Melania decrying bullying was "pure hypocrisy" given her husband's penchant for attacking people online.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Events planner and interior decorator
While many of the posts in the First Lady's staff remain unoccupied, the role of social secretary has been filled. It was announced last week that Anna Cristina Niceta Lloyd had been appointed to oversee events planning.
In a statement about the appointment, Melania said she was "looking forward to sharing my ideas and traditions of entertaining and social hospitality to America's house, my new home as well".
As well as managing hospitality in the White House, Melania has been keen to underline her design credentials. Her White House bio "mentions her design prowess", The Guardian says, adding: "The president is perhaps not the only one in the White House humming My Way."
And the first change to be made to the interior of the White House? The red curtains in the oval office have been changed to gold.
Easy does it
Melania may simply be easing into the role, says NBC.
Anita McBride, former chief of staff to Laura Bush, told the broadcaster that each incoming first lady sets the pace of her office "in the way that suits them best" and when it comes to Melania Trump, "she laid down the marker early that she'd be taking her time".
McBride adds that it took time for both Bush and her successor, Michelle Obama, to find their way into the position.
"Each of them have evolved into the role on their timetable and each has made a difference," she said. "Mrs Trump will find her footing in her own way to have an impact as well."
She's going to be a fantastic first lady… according to the President
Asked about Melania's moves to open the White House visitor's office, the US President said: "I think she is a great representative for this country and a funny thing happens - she gets so unfairly maligned. The things they say - and I have known her for a long time - the things they say are so unfair."
He added: "I'll tell you this, she is going to be a fantastic first lady. She is going to be a tremendous representative of women."
President Trump also said he is confident in Melania's ability to handle the role and that she feels "very, very strongly about women's issues, women's difficulties... (She will be a) very, very strong advocate."
His daughter Ivanka Trump will also be playing a role, he added: "Helping her and working with her will be Ivanka, who is a fabulous person and a fabulous, fabulous woman," he said. "They aren't doing this for money, they aren't doing this for pay, they are doing this because they feel it, both of them."
