Dem
51
GOP
49
Melania Trump hates politics, campaigning, and publicity. We don't know if she likes her husband, although we do know that when he was living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in D.C. she was mostly living with her parents and son in Potomac, MD, 15 miles northwest of the White House. But all of a sudden she popped up at an event on Friday and got a lot of attention. The event was at the National Archives—you know, the agency whose classified documents her husband stored in his bathroom and refused to give back, despite the Archives requesting them many times. As you may recall, this refusal to give the Archives back its property got him indicted in Florida.
Melania was invited to speak at the Archives by the Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan, an appointee of Joe Biden. She spoke to a group of 25 immigrants who were there to formally become U.S. citizens. She talked about how she immigrated to the U.S. and was naturalized in 2006, just as the attendees were being naturalized on Friday. She called the naturalization process "arduous." She also said that after taking the Oath of Allegiance, she felt a sense of belonging.
Given her husband's hatred of immigrants (except possibly his wife), Melania Trump's former adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff found her appearance at a naturalization ceremony quite repulsive. Wolkoff called it a publicity stunt. Given that the Iowa caucuses are now less than a month away, Melania's appearance surely will help smooth the sharp edges off her husband's position on immigration, turning a normally nonpolitical act into a political one. The Customs and Immigration Service has a long manual concerning the protocol at naturalization ceremonies, including instructions for inviting speakers. The preferred categories are civic leaders, government leaders, military leaders, members of Congress, judges, and DHS officials, but there is an escape clause allowing anyone else the USCIS deems appropriate. These people should be chosen due to their outstanding contributions or notable activities. It is not clear exactly what her outstanding contributions have been. (V)