In a surprisingly candid moment, Donald Trump has finally shared what he and Melania did on their very first night in the White House, and it’s not nearly as scandalous as some might imagine. Speaking at a fundraiser for his much-discussed new ballroom project, the president reminisced about his first night inside America’s most famous home. But for anyone hoping for juicy details about the Trumps’ marriage, Trump’s story took a more sentimental turn.
According to The Independent, Trump recalled how surreal it felt that first evening back in January 2017. “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,” he said. “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! 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.’”
Rather than celebrating with champagne or fireworks, Trump says he and Melania simply stood in awe, soaking in the history and grandeur of their new home. The couple, married since 2005, have long faced endless speculation about their relationship, particularly during Trump’s first term. Back in 2018, reports swirled that they slept in separate bedrooms, sparking rumors they were leading “separate lives.” While they wouldn’t be the first presidential couple to have their own rooms, they’re certainly among the few.
Even John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy famously had their own bedrooms—though, as first lady expert Kate Andersen Brower told People, their arrangement had a touch more romance. “Even when the Kennedys stayed in separate bedrooms, there were great stories about Jackie Kennedy running into her husband’s bedroom or him back to her bedroom,” Brower said.
These days, Melania reportedly spends most of her time in New York, occasionally joining her husband in Washington, D.C. Despite occasionally living apart, Trump’s fond recollection of their first night in the White House paints a softer, more personal picture of a couple long under the political and media spotlight. For all the headlines and controversies that have followed them since, that quiet moment, two people standing hand in hand, looking into the Lincoln Bedroom, may have been one of Donald and Melania’s most human yet.
