All the most salacious news from the tell-all Melania Trump book
Melania Trump is the newest member of the Trump family to get the tell-all treatment with Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady. Melania Trump’s former adviser & ex-friend Stephanie Winston Wolkoff wrote this new exposé describing her fifteen-year friendship with the First Lady.
Throughout Melania and Me, Wolkoff describes Melania Trump’s personality, her reactions to the most controversial events in Donald Trump’s presidency, and more.
Since Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady was announced, Wolkoff has been interviewed by many major publications, revealing even more information about Melania Trump’s actions in the White House. One conversation with The Washington Post revealed Melania Trump used private emails during her time as First Lady.
While the Trump family’s spokespeople claim Melania and Me is fiction, Wolkoff claims the book is based totally on her personal experiences with the First Lady. Here are some of the biggest apparent revelations from Melania and Me.
Who is Stephanie Winston Wolkoff?
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff & Melania Trump met in 2003 when Wolkoff was working as an event planner at Vogue. Melania Trump was still a model, and Donald Trump’s girlfriend.
Wolkoff & Melania Trump quickly became friends and remained close until Wolkoff was hired in late 2016 to work for Trump’s inauguration team. (Wolkoff currently owns a consulting firm for event planning.) After Trump’s inauguration festivities, Wolkoff worked as an unpaid adviser for Melania until February 2018.
Melania Trump on zero-tolerance border policy
Melania Trump might not publicly respond to Donald Trump’s domestic & foreign policy, but she frequently spoke privately to Wolkoff about her thoughts on serious matters like Donald Trump’s wall along the border with Mexico.
In Melania and Me, Wolkoff recounts a discussion about the zero-tolerance policy at the border, leading to the family separation crisis. According to Wolkoff, Melania Trump said the children she met at the camps “were brought in by coyotes, the bad people who are trafficking, and that’s why the kids were put in shelters.”
Melania Trump allegedly said, “They don’t want to stay in Mexico because Mexico doesn’t take care of them the same as America does . . . . Many children in the United States are hungry. And now we’re taking care of someone else’s children? It’s crazy!”
Melania Trump’s inauguration planning
Wolkoff’s involvement with the inauguration led to the collapse of her relationship with Melania Trump. According to Donald Trump’s inauguration team, they spent $104 million of the $107 million they received in donations. The team said they gave the extra $3 million to charity.
In February 2018, The New York Times reported Trump’s inaugural committee paid Wolkoff’s firm $26 million. However, Wolkoff said her firm received only $1.62 million. The rest, according to Wolkoff, went to another company hired to manage the inauguration planning.
Wolkoff also described Melania Trump’s involvement with the inauguration. Even though Melania Trump’s spokeswoman claimed the First Lady didn’t participate in the event planning, Wolkoff said Melania Trump knew “every detail” and handled & approved some expenditures.
Wolkoff noticed some inconsistencies in the committee’s handling of the money spent at the inauguration. Wolkoff noticed how the team spent an extraordinary amount of money on items that she felt should’ve been cheaper. Wolkoff described how Melania Trump knew about the $130,000 Tiffany bowls given out as gifts to guests.
Not-so-perfect family affair
A major highlight throughout Melania and Me is Melania Trump’s apparent contempt toward her extended family. According to Wolkoff, Melania called some of her family members “snakes”.
Ivanka Trump seems to be Melania’s main target of distaste. According to Wolkoff, Melania Trump’s nickname for Ivanka is “The Princess”. Wolkoff also described “Operation Block Ivanka”, Melania’s mission to hide Ivanka’s face during Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Access Hollywood scandal
As the 2016 election drew closer, Wolkoff repeatedly asked Melania Trump whether Donald Trump fully understood what would be uncovered if he won the presidential race. Melania Trump confirmed they both understood their loss of privacy, saying, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
After Donald Trump’s controversial Access Hollywood tape was released, Wolkoff was concerned about Melania Trump’s reaction. In the tape, Donald Trump described his attraction to women, saying he wanted to “grab ‘em by the p****.”
When Wolkoff asked her about the scandal, Melania Trump laughed. Wolkoff asked Melania Trump if she was angry and Melania simply replied, “Nope! He is who he is.”
Social media over friendship
A constant thread throughout Melania and Me is Wolkoff’s sisterly relationship with Melania Trump. Wolkoff attended Donald & Melania Trump’s wedding; Wolkoff & Melania conducted monthly lunches and attended each other’s personal events.
However, one event especially hurt Wolkoff’s friendship with Melania Trump. One day, Wolkoff & Melania visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Wolkoff’s grandparents were Holocaust survivors and the trip was highly emotional for Wolkoff.
While remembering her loved ones in front of the Hall of Remembrance’s eternal flame memorial, Wolkoff was visibly hurting. Melania Trump never comforted her. Wolkoff claims Melania Trump “just wanted a picture to post on social media.”
Wolkoff recounted the short conversation she had with Melania Trump as they left the museum in Melania and Me:
“As we rode back to the White House, I said, ‘That was hard for me. I miss my grandparents.’ Melania looked at me sympathetically. I said, ‘Thank you for bringing me with you today.’ And then she went back to looking at the images.”
