Just a month ago, atlantic organization Melania Trump’s apparent decision to dump Trump was welcomed.She is a rule-breaker; radical even; “this the most important A modern first lady” who, unlike Michelle Obama or even Hillary Clinton, “redefined the role of first lady through refusal.”

Of course, Melania, 53, has been conspicuous by her absence over the past few years, and particularly over the past 12 months. She has not attended any rallies since the start of this year’s election cycle.

But as Trump, 77, prepares to run for the White House again, his semi-independent wife Set to reappear. Asked on Tuesday whether she would roll up Celine’s sleeves to join her husband in another White House battle, Melania said she would return to the campaign trail, telling reporters to “stay tuned.”

“I think it’s probably limited in what it can do,” said Patricia Krause, a political scientist at the University of New Haven. “Once she comes out publicly, she’s constantly being questioned about Trump’s legal woes and has to constantly defend him. I don’t think that’s what she really wants to do.”

Krause does believe that a presidential candidate’s partner “can be helpful in a campaign if she’s likeable, as Melania is in Republican circles.”

“As a potential first lady, Kathy DeSantis didn’t do much for Ron DeSantis on the campaign trail because people didn’t seem to like her, and I think that really had a negative impact on his campaign. negative impact,” Krause added.

Trump’s former Republican rival dropped out of the race for the nomination in January.

“Melania’s reappearance may give Trump a boost, but I’m not sure it will change anything.”

Melania is hardly a doting wife, and who can blame her, judging by the indifference that sometimes turns into thinly veiled disdain? But she could be a loving mother.

“Ultimately, her goal is to protect Barron, not Trump,” Krause said, “so she will do what she thinks is in the best interest of her son.”

Many observers viewed her re-emergence as a deal designed to bolster Trump’s “family man” credibility, which had declined during the campaign. There’s nothing particularly radical about this.

Is it a coincidence that Melania’s comments come at the perfect time? Stormi Daniels looks set to testify in New York? The hush-money case will remind the American public — and perhaps some wavering evangelicals — that Trump had an affair with a porn star shortly after his wife gave birth to their only son.

If Trump expects Melania to grit her teeth and stand by his side in her nonchalant but slightly absent-minded style — who knows, even hold his paw — while Daniels repeats her reaction to everything unflattering description of Trump’s genitals The way he behaves, his wife will undoubtedly charge a fee in the process.

Based on a book published last month New York Times White House Correspondent Katie Rogers, Melania Trump exposed her Angered by allegations of hush money payments in 2018, Daniels canceled a trip abroad with Trump and traveled to Mar-a-Lago alone.

Four years later, Trump was charged with 34 felonies stemming from the hush-money deal, and Melania failed to attend a speech at Mar-a-Lago. people The magazine reported that she was “not sympathetic to Donald’s plight.”

The news that Trump had flirted with an adult film actress was like a revelation to his core supporters. Any adverse effects of the hush-money case on the Trump campaign are likely to be inconsequential; perhaps a new round of insults directed at Daniels will remind some female Republican voters of the Republican candidate’s horrific misogyny.This is the man who boasts access hollywood tapes About his penchant for “grabbing women by their cunts.”

But no matter what happened during the chaos of Trump’s presidency from 2016 to 2020, Melania always remained calm and composed, wearing five-inch heels and impeccable fashion. Regardless of the weather, any feelings of humiliation, boredom, or disgust are hidden behind four walls or the oversized sunshades she loves, especially when her husband is playing or having fun.

for all viral clips Melania rolls her eyes Or scowling at her husband, there she is for much of the shoot: calm, graceful, and everything Trump wants in a sexy former model wife. In an era of radical and unsavory social ideas, his conservative base saw the nuclear family unit they needed.

If she puts her mind to it, she can perform.When Anderson Cooper interviewed her after learning of the incident access hollywood tapes She seemed unfazed after making headlines. This is not sexual assault. It’s just “boy talk.”

“He’s 59 years old,” Cooper countered. She smiled.

“Sometimes it’s like, ‘I have two boys at home,’” she responded. “‘I have my little boy, I have my husband.’”

In return, Melania lives a life of luxury that most people can only dream of. Politics is not her thing. When she tried – or was forced to try – she was shot down in flames. In 2016, one of her campaign speeches in support of her husband made headlines for all the wrong reasons when she stole most of it From a 2008 speech by Michelle Obama.

Melania gave the world cheekbones and designer clothes. Enterprise began and ended with a line of caviar-infused skin care products and QVC costume jewelry designed for suburban women who aspired to Jackie O glamour.

Mary Jordan, author her art of the dealtold New York Times Melania is “the most secretive first lady we’ve ever seen” and often neglects to inform her husband of her whereabouts.

By 2024, that looks set to change – no doubt to some extent the result of careful negotiations.