Why Bizarre Melania Moves Have White House Alarmed

Inside Trump's Head

The Daily Beast

News, Society & Culture

4.3 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ready to reach your goals? Visit https://hims.com/DAILYBEAST to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you. #ad Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles unpack a strange new chapter in the Trump orbit as Melania Trump publishes a cliché-ridden Mother’s Day op-ed, sparking questions about whether the first lady is quietly building a business identity separate from Donald Trump himself. From Melania’s “strategic absences” and growing concerns within White House to Wolff’s update on his legal battle with the first lady, the discussion moves through media capitulation, Trump’s escalating attacks on ABC and the press, and a startling Virginia court decision that could reshape the 2026 midterms by giving Republicans a major structural advantage. The episode also explores Britain’s political upheaval under the rise of Nigel Farage, mounting fears that Trump can manipulate the electoral system despite worsening political headwinds, and the eerie details surrounding Epstein’s death and purported suicide note, which Wolff says sounded disturbingly Trumpian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:00.0	If she is in some kind of secret or not so secret revolt against him, which I think she might be,
0:09.2	in the times that she has come out, that has not been good for them. The Epstein thing, drawing attention
0:15.8	to that, her just peculiar attitude about everything, her absence, her strategic absences, this is not good for them, and it's not necessarily controllable for them.
0:32.9	Michael.
0:34.7	Joanna.
0:36.6	Oh, my goodness.
0:37.6	Do you think either Melania or Donald Trump know that Melania has written an ode to motherhood in the Washington Post?
0:49.7	Well, having read the ode to motherhood in the Washington Post by Melania Trump, I would say
0:56.2	certainly that she didn't write it, so it makes sense that she didn't read it.
1:02.1	And he doesn't read anything.
1:04.9	So, yeah, I think this probably has a completely independent life from both of them. But having said that, I mean, I think this probably has a completely independent life from both of them.
1:13.6	But having said that, I mean, I think it's part of what we're now seeing.
1:18.6	This is the new Melania, and the new Melania is brand Melania.
1:23.6	It's all about how she sees her future business, which is the Melania business.
1:31.3	So now she's speaking up for motherhood in such a peculiar way also.
1:39.3	Yeah, yeah.
1:39.9	It makes no sense.
1:40.8	She's speaking up.
1:43.1	It would seem for single mothers everywhere.
1:47.9	I'm totally perplexed by this.
1:51.1	Okay, so for those of you who don't know what we're talking about,
1:54.4	this is an op-ed that Melania Trump has written ahead of Mother's Day on Sunday in the Washington Post.
	...

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