FLOTUS to make White House appearances. What to know about Melania Trump
The Office of the First Lady advisories show she will host an unveiling of a U.S. Postal Service stamp honoring former First Lady Barbara Bush and a Celebration of Military Mothers.
The first lady, who was absent for much of Trump's presidential campaign, has only made a handful of public appearances since he returned to office. Others include speaking at the International Women of Courage Awards, attending Pope Francis' funeral and urging lawmakers to pass the Take It Down Act.
Here is what to know about First Lady Melania Trump ahead of her back-to-back events:
Barron Trump finishes freshman year at NYU. Here's where his family graduated (and who didn't)
Already in 2025, Melania Trump endorsed the 'Take It Down Act'
In a rare moment of bipartisanship, Congress passed the Take It Down Act, which criminalizes nonconsensual, explicit images created by artificial intelligence, often known as deepfakes.
Melania Trump used much of her public airtime to endorse this bill, which received near-unanimous approval.
"It's heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content, like deepfakes," Melania Trump said on March 3 while lobbying for the legislation.
When did Donald Trump marry Melania?
Donald Trump and Melania got married in 2005. They met in 1988, two years after she moved to New York.
Melania is Donald Trump's third wife.
Does Melania Trump have a college degree?
No. According to the American Presidency Project, Melania Trump did not complete a degree but attended the University of Ljubljana for one year.
Barron Trump is Melania and Donald Trump's only child together
President Trump has five children, and Melania Trump is the mother of his youngest, Barron Trump.
Barron Trump, 19, recently completed his freshman year at New York University.
What nationality is Melania Trump?
Melania Trump, who was born as Melanija Knavs but changed her name to Melania Knauss and later Melania Trump, is Slovenian.
Slovenia is a country in Eastern Europe between Croatia and Austria.
She is the only first lady to become a naturalized citizen and the second first lady born outside the United States. (The first was Louisa Catherine Adams, married to John Quincy Adams, who was president from 1825-1829.)
Photos of Melania Trump when she met Trump as a young model
Before Melania Trump married the billionaire and future president, she was a model. Take a look back at her early relationship with Donald Trump:
Contributing: Savannah Kuchar, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Melania: Nationality, marriage to Donald, and mom to Barron Trump
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
42 minutes ago
- CNN
Donald Trump celebrates pantheon Trump-approved Kennedy Center honorees
Donald Trump People in entertainment MusicFacebookTweetLink Follow Everyone likes to share their taste. Donald Trump is just like us, except he also has tanks. On Wednesday, the president returned to the Kennedy Center to make announcements about this year's honorees, showing off his vision for the arts institution that would fulfill the goal he promised earlier this year: to 'reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation.' Trump is eager to leave his imprint on America not just through participating in legislation and budgeting but by changing what culture we recognize and celebrate and teach, across American museums, universities and beyond. For colleges, he is brokering deals where he promises to withhold funding until the schools pay the government for various misdeeds he says they have committed, thereby earning a clean slate for some period of time. For DC, he brought in the FBI, military and tanks. For the Kennedy Center, it was even easier: he simply appointed a board that would name him as chairman. 'It's going to be a big evening,' Trump said, about the upcoming Kennedy Center awards evening. 'I've been asked to host,' he said, adding that he'd declined, but that the board had insisted. 'Next year we'll honor Trump.' His 'STARS' turned out to be: George Strait, the record-setting country recording artist. Also, Michael Crawford, 'one of the greatest talents I've ever actually seen,' Trump said. He waxed rapturous about Crawford's roles in the theater, most notably in 'The Phantom of the Opera.' Trump gave a big lead up to an 'action movie icon and a friend of mine, a very unique man,' Trump said. That was Sylvester Stallone. 'He was very honored to be honored.' Gloria Gaynor, singer of the great American gay anthem 'I Will Survive,' also made the list — 'an unbelievable song,' Trump said. 'One of those few that get better every time you hear it.' Ivana Trump agreed — this was the song, she wrote in her memoir, 'Raising Trump,' that she listened to in court with headphones during her divorce trial from Trump. Also making the list: the legendary makeup-forward rock band KISS. The president's love of culture has always been deep if narrow and has often turned to disco. A Spotify playlist of his 2020 campaign presidential rally songs brings together artists as diverse yet clustered together as Elton John, the Village People and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. That playlist also includes the Rolling Stones, who are among the many artists who have objected to Trump's endorsement of or use of their music. Trump clearly adores the song 'Macho Man' and the brassiest of show tunes. This is the president who once allegedly had a fellow around to play him the song 'Memory' from Cats whenever he was too upset. The experience of seeing 'Cats' is what Trump recalled, with great passion, in a meeting with Kennedy Center trustees in March, during which he pledged to bring Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals back to our nation's capital. One funny thing about 'Memory,' that show's most famous song, is that it's famous because of Betty Buckley's performance, which Trump says he remembers with great detail. Buckley herself says she built that performance from following around women who were homeless. In doing so, she had a realization. She explained to the New Yorker: 'I began to follow homeless people—women my age, women who were like me—trying literally to interpret them. I was playing it pathetically—but what I saw instead on the streets were women really trying to hold on to their dignity, so their self-presentation was all dignity and grace.' After announcing the honorees, the president offered some thoughts of his own about homeless people. As part of his plan to make Washington 'beautiful'—now that he has taken over the city's police department and dispatched federal officers and the National Guard — Trump said, 'We're going to have to remove the tents and the people that are living in our parks.' 'They're saying 'he's a dictator,'' Trump said of critics of his current approach to governance. 'Instead of saying 'he's a dictator,' they should say 'We're going to join him.'' The president promised more intervention in cities beyond D.C., including Los Angeles, Chicago and New York: 'Our whole country is going to be so different.' 'I don't want to call a national emergency,' he said, 'but if I have to I will.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
As Trump-Putin summit nears, family of Texan held in Russia seeks prisoner exchange
As President Donald Trump prepares to travel to Alaska on Friday to address the future of Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the family of the Texas man serving the longest prison sentence of any American currently being detained in Russia is hopeful that another prisoner exchange between the two nations will be on the agenda. "We hope for better relations between the U.S. and Russia that will hopefully lead to the release of my brother," Margaret Aaron, one of David Barnes' two sisters, told ABC News anchor Gio Benitez in an interview Wednesday. Barnes, who grew up in Alabama, has been detained in Moscow since January 2022 and is currently serving a 21.5-year sentence. MORE: Moscow court rejects American David Barnes' appeal to get out of Russian prison "He's hanging in there," Aaron said. "He has been extremely strong through the last three and a half years. We're extremely proud of him and he has continued to be hopeful that something will happen." Unlike other Americans who have been held in Russia, Barnes is accused by Russian prosecutors of crimes in the United States, not Russia. Yet American law enforcement had no involvement in Barnes' prosecution in Moscow. Barnes was convicted by a Russian judge of abusing his two sons years earlier in Texas, but prosecutors in Montgomery County, Texas, told ABC News that law enforcement in the Lone Star State investigated the claims after they were reported by Barnes' Russian ex-wife and did not find evidence to support them. "I do know that everyone that heard and investigated the child sexual abuse allegations raised by Mrs. Barnes during the child custody proceedings did not find them to be credible," Montgomery County District Attorney's Office Trial Bureau Chief Kelly Blackburn previously told ABC News. "He's been suffering," Aaron said Wednesday. "He's innocent." Barnes' ex-wife, Svetlana Koptyaeva, has maintained that Barnes abused their sons while the children were growing up in the Texas suburbs years ago. Koptyaeva was charged with felony interference with child custody after allegedly taking the children from Texas to Russia in 2019 while a child custody dispute between her and Barnes was playing out. In 2020, a Texas family court designated Barnes as the primary guardian of his sons, but since since Koptyaeva had taken them out of the country, Barnes' family says he decided to travel to Russia after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted to try to fight for similar custody or visitation rights in Moscow's court system. Barnes was arrested weeks after arriving in Russia and has been behind bars ever since. In April, a judge in Moscow denied Barnes' appeal of his conviction. MORE: American David Barnes enters 4th year of detention in Russia "We really, really need to have him designated as wrongfully detained," Aaron said. "Hopefully, to start that process, we need the help of Trump and Secretary [Marco] Rubio." The upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin on American soil comes four months after Russian officials released ballerina Ksenia Karelina to the U.S. through a prisoner exchange. Following Karelina's return to the U.S., she wrote a letter to Trump calling for the release of Barnes along with fellow Americans Robert Gilman and Andre Khachatoorian. Trump posted the letter on social media. "David Barnes, a Texas father of two sons, has been detained in Russia for far too long under charges already proven to be false, and it is past time for him to be released," U.S. Senator John Cornyn of Texas said in a statement at the time. "I urge President Trump and Secretary Rubio to prioritize efforts to bring David and all wrongfully-detained Americans throughout the world home." Other Americans who were previously held in Russia, like Paul Whelan, Trevor Reed and Brittney Griner, were transferred to penal colonies far from Moscow following their convictions -- but Barnes has been held in Russia's capital since he was taken into custody. "We have visited Mr. Barnes eight times since his arrest in January 2022," a U.S. State Department spokesperson told ABC News. "Our last visit to Mr. Barnes in detention was in May 2025." With all eyes on Anchorage ahead of this week's presidential summit, Barnes' family and friends in the U.S. will be paying close attention. "David's strength keeps us going," Aaron said.
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Trump has set many deadlines for peace in Ukraine with zero results
Trump has set many deadlines for peace in Ukraine with zero results President Donald Trump says Russia will face "consequences" if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war in Ukraine. CNN's Kate Bolduan shows how Trump has made similar remarks in the past without producing any results. 02:01 - Source: CNN Vertical Politics of the Day 10 videos Trump has set many deadlines for peace in Ukraine with zero results President Donald Trump says Russia will face "consequences" if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war in Ukraine. CNN's Kate Bolduan shows how Trump has made similar remarks in the past without producing any results. 02:01 - Source: CNN Locals in the Cotswolds protest JD Vance's visit US Vice President JD Vance arrived at Royal Airforce Base Fairford in the United Kingdom, where he met US troops and was welcomed by applause - a noticeable shift from locals protesting in the villages of Charlbury and Dean, where Vance stayed during his trip. 01:07 - Source: CNN The history of Trump's relationship with Putin CNN's Jeff Zeleny explains the history behind President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin's relationship over the years. The two world leaders are set to meet for their biggest summit yet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. 01:32 - Source: CNN Trump names Kennedy Center nominees after seizing control of institution President Donald Trump appeared at the Kennedy Center and announced the first recipients of its hallmark honors since he seized control of the institution's board earlier this year. 01:39 - Source: CNN Anderson gives his take on Trump admin's call to vet Smithsonian museums CNN's Anderson Cooper explores what the Trump administration's declaration that it intends to take control over the Smithsonian museums says about how President Trump views history. 04:15 - Source: CNN 'Deeply dangerous': Wes Moore reacts to National Guard deployed in DC Maryland Democratic Governor Wes Moore spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper about the potential deployment of federal troops in Baltimore after President Donald Trump said he is placing Washington, DC's, police department 'under direct federal control' and deploying National Guard troops to the nation's capital. 01:57 - Source: CNN Trump will meet Putin one-on-one as a 'listening exercise' President Donald Trump plans to meet one-on-one with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of their summit on Friday in Alaska. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized the summit as a "listening exercise." 00:38 - Source: CNN Mayors across US react to Trump's warnings of federal intervention Democratic mayors across the US react to President Donald Trump placing DC police 'under direct federal control' and deploying the National Guard to crack down on crime. 01:10 - Source: CNN Baltimore's mayor responds to Trump's claims about his city Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) responded to President Donald Trump's criticism about violence in his city by highlighting historic drops in violent crime. President Trump warned other major cities about federal intervention after he placed the Washington, DC, police department under federal control and deployed the National Guard. 01:05 - Source: CNN
