Must Reads: Melania Trump's complicated life as first lady

Compelling, ambitious reads you can’t afford to miss.

National political reporter Mary Jordan first wrote about Melania Trump in 2015 when her husband was campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination. This week, Jordan teamed up with White House reporter Josh Dawsey and Reliable Source columnist Emily Heil to examine Melania's complicated life as the wife of the president. "She's only been in this country 22 years, and she's now the first lady," said Jordan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former foreign correspondent. "It's quite an American story."

Melania's 16 months as first lady have been mostly low key and sometimes nearly invisible. With guidance from Style editor Krissah Thompson, who covered Michelle Obama and the East Wing of the White House during the Obama presidency, Jordan, Dawsey and Heil set out to understand the role Melania was playing. Or as Jordan put it: "Where is she, what's she doing and what kind of impact is she having at the White House?"

Jordan said they interviewed more than two dozen people, including West and East Wing aides, and examined all the White House social media accounts, official photos and schedules of the president and first lady to see how often they interacted. They also spoke to historians and people who'd worked in the Bush and Obama administrations to determine how different this first couple is from their predecessors. Among the revelations: The Trumps sleep in separate bedrooms and spend relatively little time together and her signature anti-cyber bullying efforts were launched in spite of White House advice to pick any other issue. 

Jordan credited the way she and her colleagues went after the story together for the insights it delivered. "There's a lot of talent in the newsroom, and we put it together in a new way for this story," she said. "The critical piece was the collaboration."
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— Lynda Robinson, Local Enterprise Editor

Inside Melania Trump’s complicated White House life: Separate schedule, different priorities Amid the chaos of her husband’s presidency, the first lady raises her profile and defines her role. Mary Jordan, Emily Heil and Josh Dawsey  •   Read more »

‘I’m crushing it’: How Michael Cohen, touting his access to President Trump, convinced companies to pay millions Cohen simultaneously represented Trump and worked for clients who needed connection to the president. At least two of the companies have been contacted by the special counsel. Michael Kranish, Rosalind S. Helderman, Carolyn Y. Johnson and Josh Dawsey  •   Read more »

‘Heinous and violent’: MS-13’s appeal to girls grows as gang becomes ‘Americanized’ The killing of a 15-year-old girl in Northern Virginia reflects growing female involvement in MS-13, authorities say. The attack was led by another girl. Michael E. Miller and Justin Jouvenal  •   Read more »

People think she’s a Parkland ‘crisis actor.’ It’s terrifying. Another Emma Gonzalez’s life has been turned upside down by a tragedy 1,250 miles away from her home. Danielle Paquette  •   Read more »

Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer long wondered if he’s related to JFK. At 72, he learned the truth. Adopted in 1945 and raised in privilege, Palmer never thought too hard about his origins during his legendary MLB career. But his wife’s curiosity led to a discovery. Dave Sheinin  •   Read more »