Melania Trump, First Lady of the United States, A Welcome Antidote to a Celebrity Obsessed Culture

Back in the 1992 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton went on Arsenio Hall’s show to play his saxophone and a sort of taboo was broken. For in fact up until the 1992 campaign, presidential candidates appeared only on radio and then TV shows of a serious and political nature. But Bill Clinton needed something to set him apart from George HW Bush and Ross Perot and so the slide from politics to entertainment began.

Instead of working to educate the public and bring them into the discussion of politics, politicians went to the voters and made their case for election based not on a political agenda and positions but on their ability to be cool. First it was former President Bill Clinton playing the sax. Then it was George W Bush parachuting down onto the destroyer. Then it was Michelle and Barack Obama putting on show after to show to promote their agendas be it playing soccer with soccer players or being comedian in chief. How then could we be surprised when we ended up with Trump.

Instead of being politicians they chose to become stunts men, actors and celebrities. Once upon a time being a celebrity for no reason was looked down upon but even being in the limelight for anything other than one’s real job was also looked down upon. Now in fact the tables have been turned it is more important that the president be a celebrity then that he (or she someday) be a politician.

If the presidents themselves became celebrities, some of their wives upped the ante. Not content to stay in the background like some wives; presidential wives like Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama thought they became more relevant and were able to promote their own or their husbands' agendas by actively searching for the limelight: giving interviews, doing shows and being incessantly in the news.

How refreshing then to finally have a first lady that doesn’t seem to need public adulation. Maybe it is because as a former model she understands that being in front of a camera is not that special and certainly shouldn’t be a goal in and of itself. Maybe it is because as more of a business women than her predecessors, she understands that for maximum value a product should be scarce. Or maybe being married to someone who does enjoy the limelight, she sets herself apart by not participating in that circus.

Whatever the reason for Melania Trump’s more private and reserved performance as First Lady of the United States, maybe this will mark an inflection point and politicians and their wives will understand that they really need to focus on politics and policy instead of entertainment and visibility. Here is hoping she doesn’t change.