When the wife of President Donald Trump takes her seat in the president's chair on Monday afternoon, it will be the first time a first lady, or first gentleman for that matter, has ever presided over a Security Council meeting, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
Brett Ratner's new documentary about Melania Trump is long and glossy yet largely unrevealing-critics have said it has " the feel of a soothingly looped AI screensaver" and that it is " compelling as dental floss," " short on substance," and " a personality-study of a person who doesn't actually have one." They've used words like " hagiographic," "unimaginative," " Sphinxlike," and " stultifying." The Bulwark called it a "pure and naked instrument of graft and propaganda" that "preaches to the faithful with great reverence."
The movie featuring Melania Trump as herself surprised critics by making back roughly $7 million of the reported $75 million Amazon MGM Studios paid to launch the globally over the weekend, according to the studio. Melania is listed as a producer on the documentary that focuses on the days leading up to her becoming the nation's first lady for the second time.
The primary question in all matters concerning Melania Trump is " What is she thinking?" The First Lady is an endless font of utterly puzzling behavior. So it's fitting that at the premiere of her film on Thursday night she stood before the audience and declared, basically, "Ceci n'est pas une documentary." "Some have called this a documentary. It is not," she said.
Melania Trump grew up in Sevnica, Slovenia, a small town of around 17,670 people. Her father was a car salesman, and her mother worked in a local textile factory. Sevnica's tourism doubled when she became first lady for the first time. Before Melania Trump became a fashion model and first lady of the United States, she was Melanija Knavs, the Slovenian daughter of a car salesman and a textile factory worker.
In the wake of a slew of artist cancellations, Kennedy Center leadership says it wants to book "performers who aren't political." Apparently, that ethos doesn't extend to its film programming, as the Washington, DC venue is set to host the premiere of a new Melania Trump documentary on January 29th. The film, simply titled Melania, will be released in theaters worldwide by Amazon MGM on January 30th, 2026, reportedly as part of a $40 million licensing deal.
Hosting the Congressional Ball seems like it should be one of the easiest tasks on the Trumps' agenda. The annual party is a bipartisan event where members of the House of Representatives and Senate gather to celebrate the holidays at the White House. All the president and First Lady have to do is show up in something festive, issue some generic holiday well-wishes, and smile.
White House tours are set to resume Tuesday, just in time for the holidays - and with a much smaller footprint than before this year's East Wing demolition. The tours were on a three-month hiatus because of President Trump's decision to build an estimated $300 million ballroom, which resulted in the East Wing's removal. Images of the demolition sparked controversy and outrage with some suggesting the excavators tearing into the East Wing were a metaphor for Trump's approach to the government since returning to office.
