**DISCLAIMER: This article was first published in March of 2024**
With the unfortunate state of polling between incumbent President Joe Biden and ex-President and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump combined with the fact that the 2024 United States presidential election is quite literally just around the corner now, it’s, unfortunately, time to accept the very real possibility that Donald J. Trump could return to the White House next year.
As we’re all painfully aware, Donald never intended to leave the White House in the first place when he lost the 2020 election to his Democratic opponent and spent every final day, hour, and moment of his term quite literally attempting to overthrow the United States government so he wouldn’t have to change his address.
However, upon looking back at a rather interesting and telling report from CNN’s Kate Bennett, hailing from December 2020 when Trump’s tumultuous term was on its last leg, it seems that Trump’s wife and then soon-to-be-ex-First Lady Melania Trump had much different concerns when it came to the end of their White House term.
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As noted by Bennett in her report, Trump was spending every waking moment at the time railing against the results of the 2020 election. In the public’s eye, his wife was echoing, albeit weakly, her husband’s sentiments about his humiliating loss. However, behind closed doors, it seems all Melania was truly concerned about was squeezing as much money as she could from American taxpayers for her own gain on her way out the door.
The CNN report notes Melania’s decision to bring Marcia Lee Kelly into her sparse East Wing staff in April, to serve as a special government employee; an unpaid, volunteer position.
Bennett wrote at the time:
Kelly had previously run the White House Office of Administration and after it became clear Trump would need to prep for her life after Washington the first lady told Kelly to discreetly ask West Wing acquaintances and a member of the Office of Management and Budget whether there were taxpayer funds allocated to former first ladies, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
The short answer is no. While there are post-presidential perks for such things for the outgoing commander in chief, budgets to set up an official office and staff and cover some travel costs, there is nothing from the government for any first lady, save a paltry $20,000-a-year pension, which is paid out only if her husband dies.”
It’s long been common knowledge that Melania couldn’t get out of the White House fast enough. Frankly, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that she wanted to milk the Americans she was supposed to serve for all they were worth on her way out.
Read Bennett’s full report here.
Featured image via U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Darrell Hamm
