For most of her husband’s astonishing presidential campaign, Melania Trump remained on the sidelines, offering pre-approved comments about the Donald’s much-discussed temperament only when asked.
In recent weeks, however, the 46-year-old model has taken center stage several times – and each occasion likely left her wishing she could fade back into the background.
First there was the unexpected controversy that erupted in the wake of Melania’s speech at the Republican National Convention:
Rumors that the speech had been plagiarized from Michelle Obama’s 2008 address at the Democratic National Convention were confirmed when a speech writer employed by the Trump campaign admitted to stealing large sections of the text.
Shortly after that mini-scandal, nude photos of Melania were published by the New York Post in the midst of what was already the worst week of her husband’s campaign.
Now, Mrs. Trump is at the center of yet another political firestorm, this one involving her citizenship.
An organization known as the Democratic Coalition Against Trump has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all of the paperwork that Melania filed in order to become a US citizen.
Of particular interest to the group is a comment made by immigration attorney Michael Wildes, an employee of the Trump Organization:
“Mrs. Trump received citizenship in 2006 and prior to that she had a green card based on marriage,” Wildes said when asked about Melania’s path to citizenship in an interview with Univision.
“Before that, she had a work visa and was in full compliance on her visas and never disrespected any of them. That has been made clear to me.”
It’s a puzzling comment, as Melania became a citizen through her marriage to Donald in 2006, yet Wildes seems to indicate that she had obtained a marriage-based green card shortly after she arrived in the US several years prior.
Mrs. Trump has never indicated that she was married previously.
When asked for clarification, Wildes told Univision that he would request further information from the Trump Organization.
He later emailed a response reading simply, “I didn’t hear back, sorry.”
For obvious reasons, the situation has led many to conclude that either Melania is lying about how and when she obtained her citizenship, or that she was married before she met Trump, and has for some reason decided to keep her first marriage a secret.
It’s an ironic twist, as not only has Trump ridden a wave of anti-immigration sentiment throughout his campaign, he was also a leading figure in the birther movement, a coalition of conservatives who believed that President Obama was lying about being born in America and demanded to see his birth certificate as evidence.
The real estate tycoon and former reality star made the effort to invalidate Obama’s election a personal pet project, and of course, when Obama did produce his birth certificate, Trump took all the credit.
The Trump campaign has yet to comment on the controversy surrounding Melania Trump’s citizenship.
