‘Melania:’ All fashion, no substance

By Wendell Gaa 

I finally got to stream on Amazon the much talked about documentary “Melania,” about the Slovenian-born Melania Trump, the nation’s second foreign-born First Lady after the British-born Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, the sixth U.S. President.

After watching it with strictly non-political bias lens, to summarize it would be for me: all pomp, fashion, and spectacle, yet no substance. 

“Melania” documents the daily activities which she undergoes in the 20 days leading up to her husband Donald’s re-election to a second term as President. Trump is the second president to be re-elected on a non-consecutive term since Grover Cleveland who served as U.S. President in 1885-1889 and 1893-1897. 

Now I was hoping that this film documentary would chronicle and specify what her specific goals and intentions were once she would return to the White House and resume her roles from her husband’s first term as President from 2017 to 2021.  More importantly I would have been very interested to learn about what substantial accomplishments she had made during her first tenure as First Lady.  Alas, that is not what we get by watching this film, which merely documents Melania’s immediate concerns and activities revolving around preparations for her husband’s second-term inauguration. We see her selecting the right wardrobe and hats and coordinating with her assistants on how extravagant the presidential inaugural parties should be in ushering the First Couple’s White House political comeback.

Some of history’s greatest U.S. First Ladies have had remarkable legacies both during and after their time in the White House, such as Eleonor Roosevelt who was known for her post-World War II humanitarian work for refugees; Jackie Kennedy whose White House restoration works reinvigorated the public interest in American presidential history; and Nancy Reagan who is well remembered for her anti-drug use campaign efforts throughout the 1980s. 

What will Melania Trump be most renowned for many years from now?  What has she accomplished during her husband’s first presidential term?  What are her goals for President Trump’s second term?  “Melania” only momentarily addresses those issues, albeit so brief that one may hardly remember.  And yet these are the very things that I wanted the documentary to focus on. Quite the opposite, except for some charity-related interviews, it almost entirely ignores such matters when they mean the most, especially at this time. 

As interesting as it is to know about how the Trump family go about their lives at their affluent residences in New York City and Mar-a-Lago, Florida, these are trivial matters that pale in comparison to a real issue of substance: what true meaningful works which the First Family have accomplished for the nation as a whole, and not just when it comes to the actual work of the President and First Lady. 

I realize that this documentary’s focus is on Melania alone, but I still would have been just as invested to see and understand the notable contributions which the rest of the Trump family have made for the good of the nation, including the children, Donald, Jr., Eric, Ivanka, Tiffany, and Barron.

Of course, only time and history can properly judge years from now Melania Trump’s greatest legacy, but it would have been nice if this film could have served as a powerful reminder of what she has already achieved up to this point, and in especially in that regard, “Melania” is a huge letdown.