During the recent Presidential Inauguration there were many pundits who made light of some similarities between our new First Lady Melania Trump and Former First Lady Jackie Kennedy – so I thought it was worth a further review.
On the outset one might assume that such comparisons are somewhat unfair to make because we should give our new First Lady that latitude to come into the role on her own without immediate comparisons and expectations based on the ladies who held the position in the past. However, the more you learn about First Lady Trump and the role of the modern day first lady, we are looking at someone that does have positive similarities to Mrs. Kennedy in more ways than simply her obvious style and beauty.
It is important to remember the high regard most had for Jackie Kennedy in her role as First Lady was not always there, as she was not immediately embraced. There were concerns within the Kennedy family as to whether or not she would be an asset or a liability to the young candidate for President. But over time, the American people grew to appreciate Mrs. Kennedy for her style, her elegance, and her own diplomacy through entertaining.
On fashion, Mrs. Kennedy knew she needed to symbolically wear American fashion and with help, especially that of Oleg Cassini, her style was infectious and she became an American fashion icon worldwide. Recently, millions of eyes have been on Mrs. Trump during the world’s first glimpse of her as the First Lady in her powder blue outfit by Ralph Lauren as well as her other outfits all created by American fashion designers (Much like Mrs. Kennedy collaborated on her Inaugural gown, Mrs. Trump collaborated on hers with New York designer Hervé Pierre ).
Like Mrs. Kennedy, Mrs. Trump speaks more than one language. In fact, she speaks five, which can be an asset on the global stage and during many interactions with foreign heads of states and their spouses.
While Baron Trump at 10 years old is older than the Kennedy children when they lived in the White House, there is already a clear desire to respect his childhood and privacy as the child of the President. Similarly, Mrs. Kennedy took great pains to ensure her children had a seemingly normal upbringing in DC, and also when she moved to New York City after leaving the White House.
Finally, Mrs. Kennedy strived to shield her two children from the media during her time in the White House, and she turned the White House third floor solarium into a nursery school and invited other kids—some of them children of Kennedy administration staff—to attend. The school later grew into a fully operational kindergarten complete with around ten students, professional teachers and even a small collection of animals. And, Mrs. Trump is putting her child first and is temporarily remaining in New York City so that her son can finish the school year.
Mrs. Kennedy had a deep love for art, history and historical preservation so that the White House could be kept beautiful for all that came to visit it. Reminding us that the White House is truly the “People’s House” was certainly part of the theme of the Trump Inauguration, and historical preservation is also important to Mrs. Trump. (Let us not forget, the Trump family saved much of the historic Plaza Hotel and the new “Winter House” also known as Mar a Largo in Florida.) It will be exciting to see what she does to preserve, enhance and protect elements of the White House similar to what Mrs. Kennedy did (who also created the White House Historical Association). We do know Mrs. Trump has hired Tham Kannalikham to help with the re-decorating of the private quarters, which is a common custom.
So yes in the early days it is a fair comparison – However, I can’t wait to see what the next few years have in store for this new First Family, the White House and the social calendar, because while she can be compared to Mrs. Kennedy, Mrs. Reagan and Mrs. Obama, Mrs. Trump deserves to make the office her own as our new First Lady of the United States of America.
#MAGA, #WhiteHouseTraditions, @FLOTUS, @realmelaniatrump,@WHHA
