President Donald Trump divulged how he and Melania spent their first night in the White House while speaking at a fundraiser for his massive ballroom project.
But any guests hoping to sneak a peek into the first couple’s marriage would have been disappointed. The president recalled spending the first night marveling at his 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue home in January 2016.
“To me, there’s nothing like the White House. After I won, the first night, I went up and I’m standing in the residential hallway with Melania and I’m looking into the Lincoln Bedroom,” Trump told attendees Wednesday evening.
“I say, ‘That was a surreal experience.’ I’m saying, ‘Do you believe this? We’re in the White House and that’s the Lincoln bedroom!’” Trump continued.
“It takes a while to get [used to it]. I’m still not, probably, used to it. It’s just a special place, what can I say. So we have to take care of it,” he said.
The president and first lady got married in 2005 and had a son, Barron, the following year. Speculation around the couple’s dynamics has followed them since Trump’s first term.
Reports in 2018 claimed that the pair slept in separate bedrooms, which some chalked up to the pair leading independent lives. The relationship also appeared rocky that year after a bombshell report claimed the then-president paid porn star Stormy Daniels “hush money” to keep quiet about their 2006 affair ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The first lady cancelled a trip abroad with him and arrived at his State of the Union address in a separate car, the New York Times reported at the time.
The president has repeatedly denied the affair with Daniels. The porn star testified about the encounter — with dirty details — at the trial, after which the president was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records. Melania didn’t attend the trial, but privately expressed that she believed the proceedings were a “disgrace,” according to reports.
As Donald toured the country on the campaign trail in 2024, Melania was often nowhere to be found. Her absence even prompted banners and posters wondering: “Where’s Melania?”
Since Trump reclaimed the White House, the First Lady has been seen by his side on several occasions, including at his inauguration, a state visit to the United Kingdom, the White House Easter Egg Roll and at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Last month, she spoke at a White House artificial intelligence task force; this month, she revealed she has “an open channel of communication” with Russian representatives to release Ukrainian children held captive in Russia.
On Wednesday, Trump hosted a fundraiser for his $250 million White House ballroom, a 90,000-square-foot space that will be covered in gold and used to host state dinners and other events. Construction is expected to be completed before the end of the president’s term, the White House has said.
Dozens of wealthy donors who funded the under-construction ballroom attended a dinner in the East Room. The guest list for Wednesday’s event included representatives from Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“We have a lot of legends in the room tonight, and that’s why we’re here to celebrate you because you’ve given tremendous amounts of money to see a ballroom built for the first time at the White House,” Trump told guests.
