The Gender Trap of Being First Lady
Unelected and unpaid, first ladies often struggle to develop their own policy goals. But even so, the case of Melania Trump stands out.
Melania Trump is an unusual first lady: It was a role she apparently did not want; she delayed moving into the White House for several months to allow her son, Barron, to finish school in New York City; and she has had limited public presence for much of her husband’s presidency. All told, Melania Trump hasn’t seemed enthusiastic about her role.
But speaking in the White House’s Rose Garden on Monday, Trump took on the mantle of her predecessors: She announced a new initiative called “,” which will focus on children’s well-being and social-media use, and the opioid
