[Martina]

I thought most of Melania's cringe-worthy moments were something to ignore because she never planned on this. I don't think initially being the First Lady meant anything to her, which is fine. That's her situation. I think she has invested now, and some of what she has revealed about herself is not all that admirable.

When she said the Press and writers of political books, etc. were using her family name to get ahead, I felt like I saw a glimpse of the real Melania. She has managed to get a lot of money and some power, and she imagines most people interacting with her, or talking about her, are trying to take something from her. It's kind of a sad way of looking at life. It may be how she operates. When someone once asked her if she would have married Donald if he had not been rich, she wisely replied, "Would he have married me if I had not been beautiful?" (Not an exact quote.)

She sees the world as people fighting for resources, and if you have more, people will want to exploit you. Obviously, that is sometimes the case. But people writing books about the Trumps are not necessarily opportunists. They're trying to understand our era and making arguments that might change opinion, and so on.

Melania has a very transactional and materialistic view of public and probably private interactions. She's not alone in that. But it's tacky and sad.