In Rare Interview, Melania Trump Shares How She Reacted To Husband's White House Ambitions

Melania Trump showed support for her husband, former President Donald Trump , in a rare interview this week with Fox News as she promotes her forthcoming memoir.

In the first part of the interview with Sean Hannity that aired Wednesday, the former first lady reflected on her husband’s three presidential campaigns, shared her thoughts on the intense political divisions across the country, and criticized the media, which she claims is “against” the Republican nominee.

Hannity, an old friend of Donald Trump’s, recalled a conversation he had with the former president before he announced his 2016 campaign and asked Melania Trump to verify one element.

“When he was thinking about it, we had a lot of late-night conversations about issues, and we would kind of go back and forth and debate,” Hannity recalled. ”... And when he brought the issue to you that he was thinking of running, you’re quoted to say: ‘Well, you know, if you run, you’re going to win.’”

The former first lady said it was a “true story.”

“I saw how people react to him, and he [has] a passion for this country, and we travel all around the world, and he was making speeches at that time, and I saw what the people want, and I think the country was ready for change,” she said.

“They wanted to have somebody who was not in politics, politics all the time, and I saw it. I saw in him as well that he really wants to do at that time. He was talking for many, many years, but he really felt 2016 was the right time.”

She said that “everything really changed” as soon as her husband first announced he was running for president.

“And I said, you know, this will not be very pleasant,” she recalled.

She also claimed she was not surprised when her husband was first impeached, “because I saw how they treat him, how the media was against him.”

“I think they are afraid of his strength,” she added.

Trump was impeached twice: once for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and a second time for inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. Republicans in the Senate acquitted him both times.

Hannity said the interview was recorded on Tuesday. Melania Trump has been largely dormant during the 2024 race, rarely making public appearances, but she has been more vocal ahead of next week’s release of her new book, “Melania.”