Melania Trump was certainly in no rush to move into the White House after husband Donald Trump was inaugurated. If that wasn’t clear by the fact that the first lady stayed in New York City until June 2017, a new book claims that there was one more reason she delayed her departure. Melania, 50, was allegedly busy renegotiating her prenup before arriving at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
News stories at the time focused on Melania’s decision to continue living at the Trump Tower with son Barron Trump, now 14, while he completed his school semester, costing taxpayers an exorbitant amount of money. While it was true that Melania wanted Barron to finish school, “taking care of Barron” also meant protecting them financially, according to Washington Post reporter Mary Jordan. In Jordan’s new book, The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump, she claims that Melania “needed time to cool off” after finding out about her husband’s alleged affair with Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal and other sexual indiscretions.
Like the rest of the United States, Melania apparently only learned of the scandals, including the Access Hollywood “grab ’em by the p***y” tape on television. Melania’s existing prenup “had not been incredibly generous,” Jordan writes, but noted that Melania had leverage — she had been married to the president longer than his his two ex-wives, and therefore had bargaining power. Before heading to the White House permanently, Melania allegedly renegotiated the prenup to her satisfaction, according to three sources close to the first lady cited in the book.
It mostly protects Barron’s future. The existing prenup, according to Jordan, allegedly made sure that he had dual citizenship in Slovenia, Melania’s home country. With that, he could work in Europe for the family business, the Trump Organization, one day. With the renegotiation, Melania has further ensured his part in the family business: “She wanted proof in writing that when it came to financial opportunities and inheritance, Barron would be treated as more of an equal to Trump’s oldest three children.”
Jordan also noted that people should stop using #FreeMelania. “She is … much more like [Donald] than it appears,” she wrote. Despite their perceived frostiness toward each other, the Trumps genuinely love each other, according to multiple sources Jordan interviewed, including former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Melania was allegedly the reason Donald even ran for president in 2016, according to Roger Stone, his former mentor who is about to spend four months in prison for witness tampering and lying to investigators with the Mueller report.
“She’s the one who ultimately said: ‘You know, Donald, stop talking about running for president and do it. … And if you run, you’re going to win,” Stone said in the book. She also allegedly told her husband that he should pick Mike Pence as his running mate.