First lady Melania Trump may just be the only person who can get her husband, President Donald
Trump, to concede following his 2020 election loss. The sitting president has made it clear
that he won't go down without a fight, suing some states and declining to recognize Democratic
challenger Joe Biden as the president-elect of the United States. Trump may not be ready
to accept the results, but some of the people closest to him think it's time to call a truce.
Jonathan Karl, ABC News chief White House correspondent, on This Week
with George Stephanopoulos on Nov. 8, 2020 said:
"Virtually everyone in his inner circle,
his closest advisers, including his family members, are fully aware that this is over,"
According to Karl, there have been private discussions that "include the first lady,
about how to convince him to make something of a graceful exit."
How does Melania feel about the election results
and what role could she play in the transition? Keep watching to find out.
First Lady Melania Trump took to Twitter the day after President-Elect Joe Biden
and Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris delivered a victory address to the American people.
She did not follow her husband's lead and proclaim Donald Trump the winner,
and she did not repeat the sitting president's false accusations about
widespread fraud, but she did tweet this on Nov. 9, 2020:
"The American people deserve fair elections. Every legal — not illegal — vote should be counted.
We must protect our democracy with complete transparency."
She did not elaborate, and she also did not congratulate Biden or Harris,
but some analysts say Melania may be able to help pave a way forward. ABC News Chief White
House Correspondent Jonathan Karl claims Melania and others may be pushing for a concession to
turn around her husband's sore-loser image and reposition him as a Republican "king
maker in 2022, 2024" — someone who could "maybe even run again," per OK! magazine.
Despite rumors of a disconnect within their marriage, Donald Trump's former campaign manager,
Corey Lewandowski, said Melania's influence should not be overlooked. In author Mary Jordan's book,
The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump, Lewandowski said Melania
gives Donald "good, solid, concrete advice," and according to Lewandowski, "95 percent of the time,
he took that advice. The campaign pro said Melania has "amazing political instincts."
Donald Trump may still be fighting for a second term,
but it doesn't sound like Melania Trump would be too heartbroken to leave the White House.
A friend of the Trump family told Vanity Fair in November 2017:
"This isn't something she wanted and it isn't something [Donald] ever thought he'd win.
She didn't want this come hell or high water. I don't think she thought it was going to happen."
Despite Melania's alleged reluctance to being a first lady, she may have grown
more comfortable in her role over the course of her husband's four years in the White House.
According to Anita McBride, chief of staff to former first lady Laura Bush,
Melania may experience a "certain disappointment of not having this
option (of being in the White House) again after working so hard towards it."
She told USA Today:
"You go through the stages of a loss because it is a loss.
I think [Melania] will focus on her family and her son [Barron];
helping him to manage this transition will most likely be foremost in her mind."
Barron turned 14 in March 2020.
Even if her role as First Lady was not one she expected to take on, transitioning out
of the White House come Jan. 20, 2021 will be an interesting experience for Melania Trump.
There is a lot of speculation on what the former model and soon-to-be former FLOTUS will do next.
People are questioning if she will return to a life similar to the one she lived prior to her
husband's presidency, or if she will continue some of the work she's done as first lady.
People are also curious as to where the Trumps will reside once they can
no longer call the White House home — but they are certainly not without options.
Melania could return to her Trump Tower penthouse in New York City, or she could head to Palm Beach,
Florida where the Trumps declared their official residency and registered to vote,
per USA Today. Melania allegedly voted in Palm Beach on Election Day, the outlet reported,
so it is likely she might be calling the Sunshine State home soon.
First lady historian Katherine Jellison told USA Today:
"I assume Mrs. Trump will go back to Florida — or maybe she will be able to
convince her husband to return to New York as their official
residence — and continue the kind of life she led before the White House,"
No matter what, all eyes will be on the Trumps as they return to civilian life.
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