If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission.
Melania Trump‘s memoir, Melania, was released on Tuesday, Oct. 8 and it finally gave her version of events to the hand “swat” heard around the world. The internet lost its mind in May 2017 when the former first lady was visiting Tel Aviv, Israel with Donald Trump.
As they were exiting Air Force One, the cameras caught the former president trying to reach for his wife’s hand as they walked down the red carpet. A moment later, it looked like she moved his hand away in annoyance or anger — whatever it was, it became a viral video. In an excerpt from her book, via Variety, Melania shared her side of the story. She described it as a “mere misunderstanding” due to the “protocol” of the event — “the president and prime minister walk side by side, with their spouses trailing behind.”
However, things didn’t go as planned, and “[Prime Minister] Bibi [Netanyahu] ended up holding his wife’s hand, and my husband walked beside them — three abreast.” Melania wrote, “The red carpet simply could not accommodate all four of us abreast. I allowed my husband to continue walking with the prime minister and his wife, opting to take a step back.” That’s when the real mayhem began.
“When he reached out to offer his hand, I declined, indicating that I was perfectly content walking on my own. It was a minor innocent gesture, nothing more,” she continued. That is at least Melania’s version of events even if the video seems to show something different — but protocol is protocol and we aren’t often privy to that situation. The real issue is that the swatting happened more than once during Donald Trump’s administration and the former first lady didn’t offer any further insight into those incidents.
Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen offered his perspective on their marriage and the hand-holding issues on The Official Mea Culpa podcast in 2020.
“There was a time that things looked a little bit iffy in their marriage you may recall where she wouldn’t hold his hand . . . it’s very possible that they then sat, they brought the lawyers in and they redid the agreement . . . I think she may have potentially — I’m only speaking from opinion I don’t know it to be fact, but I think, knowing Melania — being calculating, which she is — she may have upped the ante at some point,” Cohen said.
The public may never know the real truth about the couple’s marriage which seems to draw fascination from everyone. Melania marches to the beat of her own drum that sometimes feels like she’s calling the shots behind closed doors and rarely wants to be seen with her husband in public.
Before you go, click here to see the best presidential love stories in U.S. history.
Leave a Comment