Melania and Barron Trump Have Moved Into the White House
UPDATE: Melania announced Sunday that she and son Barron have moved into the White House, posting a photo to Instagram from the FLOTUS account with the caption, “Looking forward to the memories we’ll make in our new home! #Movingday.”
ORIGINAL STORY: Nearly five months after President Trump was sworn into office, Melania and Barron Trump will finally pack their bags and make the move from Trump Tower in New York City to the White House in Washington, D.C. Politico reports that the official date for the move is Wednesday, June 14th.
“I’m very happy she’s moving here,” said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign aide who has spent time with the couple. “She’s a strong influence and personality, and I think she comforts him.”
Added Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, a longtime Mar-a-Lago member and Trump confidant, “I do think Donald listens to his wife and respects her opinions on things tremendously.” According to Politico, aides said that Trump and his wife speak on the phone multiple times a day. (Late last month, the couple made headlines after Melania appeared to swat her husband’s hand away in full view of the public during their trip to Tel Aviv.)
Melania is the only first lady in modern history to delay her move to the White House; she previously stated that she wanted to remain in New York so Barron could finish off the school year. The 11-year-old will attend St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland, next year, according to CBS News.
“The mission of St. Andrew’s is ‘to know and inspire each child in an inclusive community dedicated to exceptional teaching, learning, and service,’ all of which appealed to our family,” Melania said in a statement. “We look forward to the coming school years at St. Andrew’s.”
For many months now, the Trump family has been under fire for Melania’s insistence on staying in Manhattan, as her and Barron’s presence in the city necessitated between $127,000 to $146,000 a day for security detail, according to a letter written by police commissioner James P. O’Neill. And a good chunk of that money came from U.S. taxpayers’ wallets. A petition filed on Change.org in April was titled, “Make Melania Trump stay in the White House or pay for the expenses herself.” (This cost was in addition to considerable expenses related to the president’s very regular trips in between the capital and New York City.)
Melania’s first appearance at the White House following the January 20th inauguration was in early February, when she joined Akie Abe, the wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, for a stroll through the Delray Beach museum.
With Melania’s move, the first lady’s parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, are also expected to be more familiar figures around 1600 Pennsylvania as they help to care for Barron. They will not, however, relocate full-time to Washington, as former First Lady Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, did.