While we occasionally hear about how Donald J. Trump is doing after his presidency ended in violence and disgrace, details remain thin on the ground. For instance, we know he mostly lives in resorts, ranting to strangers about the election he lost. But we don’t know if he’s living alone. Where is Melania? Where is Barron? Are they by his side or enjoying a peaceful existence away from Mar-A-Lago and his many groveling hangers-on?
According to Insider, a forthcoming book fills in some gaps. It’s called Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency, by journalist Michael Wolff, and though it won’t be released until July 27, it’s already provided solid dirt. It’s how we learned it was Rudy Giuliani who convinced Trump that Mike Pence could overturn the election (which he couldn’t). Ditto the stories of Trump staffers requesting offices on the second floor of the White House because the then-president hates stairs.
The latest breakout bit from Wolff’s book involves his post-presidential life. For one thing, it’s reportedly “unclear” how much time Melania is spending at Mar-A-Lago with her husband, just as it was unclear how often she was in the White House or in a Maryland home with her parents. But when she is there, she and Donald dine at the center of a patio restaurant, alone, at a “roped-off table.”
That sounds weird and presentational, but it’s gets stranger. As Wolff describes it, the former POTUS and FLOTUS are “looked at, somewhat, like zoo animals. No, no, that’s not right. They are like a newly married couple: every night is a wedding at which they spend their dinner greeting friends and wellwishers.”
What’s more, Donald seems to time his arrival for dinner just as everyone has filled the tables, at which point, Wolff writes, “everyone stands and applauds.”
Back in April, CNN reported on some of Melania’s mysterious involvement in her husband’s life post-White House. “She’s not a presence at Mar-a-Lago at all. She’s not mingling with people and rarely interacts with her husband’s staff,” a couple told the network. CNN also claimed that, when she is there, she “makes frequent trips to the on-site spa — with one person telling CNN she sometimes goes for treatments twice a day.”
Anyway, sounds like they’re living their best life, far away from almost everyone else’s.
(Via Insider)