People are shocked after finding out how little Melania Trump has been at the White House since her husband's inauguration.
Donald Trump was sworn into office for the second time and as the 47th President of the United States on January 20 this year. And while the POTUS recently passed the 100-day milestone in office, First Lady Melania has been nowhere to be seen.
The 55-year-old former model opts to keep a low profile and has rarely been seen in public in recent months, and was notably absent from her husband's campaign trail.
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Melania also dodged Trump's court appearances and has only recently been seen attending the late Pope Francis' funeral the day before her birthday and the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn.
She did, however, make her first of few rare public appearances with a speech back in March where she urged lawmakers to crack down on 'revenge porn' and AI-generated intimate images that are harming young women and girls - and appeared again on May 8 to unveil a postage stamp to honor former First Lady Barbara Bush and for a ceremony for military moms.
Yet these handful of brief appearances has had everyone wondering: Where is she?
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Now, it has been revealed the mom-of-one has made just a handful of visits to the White House in her husband's 108-days in office, accounting for less than 14 days in total, reports The New York Times.
Even that estimate might be 'generous,' according to the news outlet, though her stark absence may not be as controversial as it may seem.
How much time has Trump spent at the White House?
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Although now more than 100 days into his term, Trump apparently hasn't spent that much time at the White House, instead voyaging across his personal properties, like Mar-a-Lago or Trump National Doral in Florida.
According to NBC News, Trump had spent parts of 40 days on other premises besides his presidential office, spending 12 of 14 weekends on his own properties.
The news outlet adds on nine of the 14, he has stayed at Mar-a-Lago where he likes to play golf in West Palm Beach or Jupiter.
What are the living arrangements at the White House?
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Although the White House is primarily an office for the President, it also serves as a home for the POTUS and his family.
Throughout history, many families have enjoyed their time in the building and have transformed it into a playground, from President Theodore Roosevelt’s six children causing havoc which expanded to include a sandbox for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s grandchildren, a treehouse for Jimmy Carter's daughter, and a trampoline for the Kennedy's kids.
It's also served as an ideal venue - from a wedding for President Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughter Lynda in 1967, where she cut her wedding cake with a sword, to a senior prom for President Gerald R. Ford's daughter in 1975.
Yet unlike her predecessors, Melania reportedly doesn't live on the presidential grounds, preferring to reside at Trump Tower in New York where her son, Barron, also lives while attending college.
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She appeared to suggest she wasn't exactly keen on the living arrangements while in an interview on Fox & Friends before Trump returned to the Oval Office, saying that she knows the rooms 'where we will be living' and that it was 'challenging' to live there the first time.
"But this time, I have everything. I have plans I could move in. I already packed, I already selected the, you know, the furniture that needs to go in. So, it's very different," Melania said.
She also said Barron would 'come and visit.'
What has Melania said about returning to the White House?
Melania also hinted in the interview that she didn't have 'much support' from the roundtable during her husband's first term on her 'Be Best' initiative against cyberbullying, but is still keen to expand it.
"I gave him my advice, and sometimes he listens. Sometimes he doesn't and that's okay," Melania also said about her husband.
As for returning to the White House, Melania suggested she goes wherever she is required.
“I will be in the White House,” she said. “And, you know, when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach.”
"But my first priority is, you know, to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife. And once we are in on January 20, you serve the country," she added.
"Maybe some people they see me as just the wife of the president, but I am standing on my own two feet. Independent. I have my own thoughts. I have my own yes and no. I don't always agree with what my husband is saying or doing, and that's okay."
Topics: Melania Trump, Donald Trump, Politics, US News, New York, Florida
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