5 times Melania Trump followed her heart and disagreed with Donald Trump – from dissing LeBron James to animal rights and LGBT bathrooms

Oct 9, 2020

From a controversial “I don’t really care, do you?” jacket, to her stance on LGBT bathrooms, US first lady Melania Trump doesn’t always agree with her husband. Photo: AFP

From Donald Trump’s row with NBA star LeBron James, to Obama’s hunting ban, tackling ‘fake news’ and the true meaning behind that infamous ‘I really do not care, do you?’ jacket, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff’s memoir Melania and Me makes clear the American first lady has her own opinions – and isn’t afraid to air them

Melania Trump may back the US president in public, but the pair do not always see eye to eye – especially when it comes to his leadership style. From his stance on LGBTQ+ bathrooms to animal rights, here are five times where the first lady decided to stand her ground.

Celebrity foes

During a live interview with Don Lemon on CNN, NBA star LeBron James accused President Trump of using sport to divide the country. Hitting back, the president labelled him “unintelligent”, despite the fact that Lebron was opening a school for the disadvantaged at the time.

The next day, anti-bullying and online harassment advocate Melania appeared to show she was on the basketball star’s side when her communications director, Stephanie Grisham, said: “It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation and just as she always has, the first lady encourages everyone to have an open dialogue about issues facing children today.”

“[The first lady’s] platform centres around visiting organisations, hospitals and schools, and she would be open to visiting the I Promise School in Akron,” she added.

Immigration

After Donald Trump was blasted for his treatment of immigrants at the US border with Mexico, Melania stated that she “hates to see children separated from their families”, and hoped “both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform.”