Melania Trump recording reveals First Lady to vent about criticism

A former friend of Melania Trump has released new recordings of the First Lady, in which she unburdens herself about the criticism she made of her husband’s immigration policies.

The former friend in question is Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a high-profile events organizer who fell out with Melania Trump after she helped produce President Donald Trump’s inauguration for US $ 107 million (NZ $ 160 million) in 2017.

The event was haunted by allegations of misuse of funds, prompting a federal investigation, and Wolkoff felt he became the scapegoat for decisions made by Trump and his staff.

She recently published an all-in-one book, which included a number of private comments Melania Trump had made, including some derogatory ones about members of her own family.

They were reportedly based on secret audio recordings.

Wolkoff was interviewed today on CNN. The network reproduced excerpts from a recording, taken in July 2018.

It came out of a private conversation between Wolkoff and Melania Trump from the time when they were still friends.

Melania Trump can be heard complaining about some of her job, which involves decorating the White House for Christmas, and more generally about the criticism she sometimes receives for President Trump’s actions.

“They say I’m an accomplice, I’m just like him, I support him, I don’t say enough, I don’t do enough,” he says.

“I’m working like a – my ass on Christmas stuff that, you know, who cares about Christmas things and decorations? But I have to, right?”

“One hundred percent. You have no choice,” agrees Wolkoff.

“Okay, and then I do it. And I say I’m working on Christmas planning for Christmas,” Melania Trump continues.

“And they said, ‘Oh, what about the kids that got separated? Give me a fucking break. Were they saying something when Obama did that?”

“I know,” Wolkoff sympathizes.

“I can’t go. I was trying to get the child to meet with the mother. I didn’t have the opportunity, I need to go through the process and the law,” says Melania Trump.

He was referring to the policy of the US government, since it was abandoned, to separate the children of undocumented immigrants from their parents at the border.

Under Barack Obama, separations occurred when authorities had concerns about the child’s well-being or could not confirm that the adult with them was actually their legal guardian.

President Trump imposed more of a blanket policy, but eventually ended it through an executive order after a political backlash.

A judge ordered the government to reunite the children with their families. It later emerged that it could be impossible for thousands of children to do so, as the appropriate department did not have the resources to locate them.

Let’s go back to the recording.

Melania Trump can be heard insisting that the detained children were actually treated better than media reports suggested.

“Children say, ‘Wow, will I have my own bed? Will I sleep in the bed? Will I have a closet for my clothes?’ It’s very sad to hear it, but they didn’t have that in their own countries, they sleep on the floor, “she says.

“They take good care of them there. But you know, yeah, they’re not with their parents. It’s sad. But when they come here alone or with coyotes illegally, you know, you have to do something.

“Many mothers and children are [taught] how to do it. They come up and say, ‘Oh, a gang member is going to kill us. We will be, you know, it’s so dangerous. ‘ Then they are allowed to stay here.

“They are not professionals, but they are [taught] for other people what to say to get them to come, and you know, let them go stay here. Because they could easily stay in Mexico, but they don’t want to stay in Mexico, because Mexico doesn’t take care of them like the United States. “

Host Anderson Cooper took on Wolkoff over the ethics of secretly recording someone.

She read him a statement from Melania Trump’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham.

“Secretly recording the First Lady and intentionally breaking a nondisclosure agreement to publish a lewd book is a clear attempt at relevance,” Grisham said.

“The timing of this remains suspect, as does this never-ending exercise in self-pity and narcissism.”

“I think he just lost the women’s vote,” Wolkoff said in response.

“I mean, I think after watching the debate the other night, and how embarrassing and disturbing it was to see our leader act that way, I don’t even have the words to express how blatantly rude it was to act that way. And Seeing Melania come up on stage to smile at him And gesticulate at him And be okay with that kind of behavior.

“The most important voice right now should be Melania’s voice. She has no voice like his wife. The one woman we need more than ever is not coming to the plate.”

None of that really spoke to the issue at hand, so Cooper tried to bring it up in a different way.

“What was the thought on the recording?” I ask her.

“So this is what I think most people don’t understand. I had already hired my legal team while I was still in the White House,” Wolkoff responded.

“I was very worried. I expressed those concerns to Melania and Donald, but Melania was actually one of the people I went to, and she and I talked about needing a lawyer. And the next day, I did, I went and I hired an attorney, and made sure everything in my communication with the White House since January was documented.

“It had started even before they cut me off.”

That also didn’t answer the question.

In another recording played by CNN, Melania Trump and Wolkoff discuss the “legacy” of the First Lady.

“Who supports Melania? You have a legacy,” Wolkoff tells Melania Trump.

“You know what I’m saying, right? You know what I’m staying with. You shouldn’t have – people from all over the world – in New York, it was always Melania, Melania, Melania.”

“I don’t give a shit,” intervenes Melania Trump.

“It’s not about giving a shit. It’s about-” Wolkoff begins.

“It’s true. It’s true,” says Melania Trump.

“Honestly, I’m doing the same thing I did before. They can’t take it. They know I’m with him.”

“But they felt bad for you before! Now they – you know what I’m saying?” Wolkoff asks.

“Okay, all those shitty things. All those things came out. They feel bad for me, my polls went up, they said, ‘Oh my God, it’s amazing, it’s fantastic,'” Melania Trump says.

“But this is my thing. Did you hear what you just said? But instead if just … your message. You were so loved. You were,” her then friend tells her.

“They won’t make history!” Melania Trump exclaims.

“We published it, they wouldn’t make the story. You wouldn’t believe it, they wouldn’t make the story. Because they aren’t, they wouldn’t make the story because they, they, are against us. Because they’re liberal media.

“Yes, if I go to Fox, they will make history. I don’t want to go to Fox.”

Cooper asked Woldoff, who worked in the White House for a time, what did Melania Trump care to do as First Lady.

“Well, in the beginning, Melania really wanted to make a difference,” Wolkoff said.

“But I do believe that she is complicit in everything that is happening. I mean, instead of stepping out of line, she followed the line.”

“Are you a cheerleader for the president? Are you a supporter of the president? Do you like the president?” Cooper asked.

“He actually does, a lot,” Wolkoff said.

“Melania plays a role like no other person in the White House. I mean anyone. She never shakes in her boots and tells Donald exactly how she feels.

“She is his biggest cheerleader, and she thinks if he’s going to do it, he better do it right, and do it with a heavy hand, and he better do it now.”