What Trump Said On Melania Taking "More Public-Facing Role"

US President Donald Trump said his wife Melania Trump has always been "front of the scenes" person, in response to a reporter's question on board the Air Force One. The President was asked if the First Lady seems to be taking on a "more public-facing role", days after she attended Trump's inauguration in a wide-brimmed hat that hid half her face.

Asked how he envisions her spending the next four years of his tenure, Trump said, "I think she was always very much involved, but you didn't see her - more behind the scenes."

Speaking about Melania and his visits to flood-hit North Carolina and wildfire-ravaged California, Trump said, "She felt badly about North Carolina, and she felt very badly about California. I have a lot of friends in North Carolina. And she and I both have a lot of friends in California."

Questions were raised about Melania's limited presence during Trump's high-octane campaign trail ahead of the November 5 elections.

The White House, meanwhile, unveiled its official portrait of Melania featuring her in a suit, standing in front of a window with the Washington Monument in the background. The black and white portrait was taken by Regine Mahaux, a Belgian photographer who also photographed her 2017 portrait. The new portrait shows Melania standing over a desk with her fingers propped on the top.

Unlike her 2025 portrait, the first lady's 2017 photo was in color and featured a close-up of her face.

Hours before the second inauguration of Donald Trump, Melania announced the launch of her cryptocurrency. "The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now," she shared on X. The release of $MELANIA came closely after Mr Trump introduced his meme coin, which briefly impacted the value of $TRUMP. According to its official website, the $MELANIA cryptocurrency is built and tracked on the Solana blockchain. Meme coins are cryptocurrencies based characters, individuals or art.