In a lengthy, freewheeling press conference on Thursday, President Trump addressed his wife’s role in the White House and contended that she has been “unfairly maligned” by the news media.
Speculation about Melania Trump’s willingness to take on the first lady role ramped up following the revelation that she would stay in New York with the couple’s son, Barron, so he could finish out the school year. She made her first post-inauguration appearance in Washington on Wednesday, when she was on hand to greet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump said his wife’s main focus as first lady would be “women’s issues, women’s difficulties” and noted that she had recently reopened the White House Visitor Center.