by Mary Jordan
First published 2020
Melania Trump appears distant from Washington politics, but Mary Jordan reveals a different reality. The author traces Melania's path from Slovenia, where her family rejected social norms, through her modeling career in New York. Unlike other models, she avoided the party scene and lived quietly with a photographer roommate in a cramped Manhattan apartment. Jordan shows how Melania navigated a complex courtship with Donald Trump that led to marriage. The book exposes her hidden influence on major presidential decisions. Jordan uses exclusive interviews and previously unseen documents to demonstrate how Melania consistently negotiates behind the scenes to secure her objectives. While Donald Trump popularized "the art of the deal," his wife practices her own version of strategic bargaining. Jordan argues that Melania deliberately cultivates mystery while wielding substantial power within Trump's inner circle.
Genres: biography, political-science, politics, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: behind-the-scenes, power-dynamics
Setting: Slovenia, New York
Period: 21st-century
352 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster