It appears that Melania Trump has some sneaky tactics of her own.
In a new book, titled The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump, author Mary Jordan reports that the first lady stayed in New York at the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency so that she could renegotiate their prenup after he won the 2016 election.
According to Jordan, a reporter for The Washington Post, Mrs. Trump used her husband’s presidential triumph to bolster her financial standing for herself and their son, Barron. When she stayed in New York, she was able “to amend her financial arrangement with Trump — what Melania referred to as ‘taking care of Barron,’” Jordan wrote, according to the Post.
“She wanted proof in writing that when it came to financial opportunities and inheritance, Barron would be treated as more of an equal to Trump’s oldest three children,” Jordan wrote.
Jordan reveals that the original prenup wasn’t particularly lavish for Melania, who is Trump’s third wife. She sought to revise the agreement after a ruthless presidential campaign, during which audio surfaced of Trump boasting to Access Hollywood reporter Billy Bush about grabbing women by their genitals.
At the time, The Wall Street Journal also reported that The National Enquirer paid for and squashed an allegation from a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, who said she and Trump had an affair.
Mrs. Trump’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, denounced the book, telling The New York Times, “Yet another book about Mrs. Trump with false information and sources. This book belongs in the fiction genre.”
According to The Post, details about how Mrs. Trump advocated for her husband’s political career are included in the book. She is also characterized as his vital soundboard and someone who emboldened his more sinister behaviors, like lying that Barack Obama might have been born in Kenya.
She also maintains her image in a similar way to her husband. In the book, Jordan questions whether Mrs. Trump is actually fluent in multiple languages. “Photographers and others who have worked with her over the years—including native speakers of Italian, French and German told me that they never heard her use more than a few words of those languages,” Jordan wrote.
