West Wing aides view First Lady Melania Trump as an unpredictable force beyond anyone’s control, including that of President Donald Trump himself, according to journalist Michael Wolff’s latest Substack piece on his HOWL newsletter. The column, called “Melania: The Wild Card,” portrays White House staff as perpetually nervous about what she might do next—a fear Wolff traces in part to her public denial of ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Wolff, who wrote the bestselling “Fire and Fury” and has covered the Trump administration extensively, describes the first lady as the administration’s greatest uncertainty. Aides privately wonder whether she could act against the president’s interests, and their inability to rule that out entirely is what keeps them on edge, according to his reporting.
Tensions Between the President and First Lady
The Trump marriage, according to Wolff, has reached its coldest phase since the Stormy Daniels trial. Communication between the two has nearly ceased, he claims, and there’s scarcely any pretense that she resides at the White House. Earlier reports have indicated she spends much of her time in New York City instead of Washington.
Wolff writes that “Every appearance is a negotiated one.” He characterizes her as more autonomous now—more liberated and more detached from the president—than ever before in their relationship. That growing independence, rather than any specific complaint, constitutes the real source of unpredictability.
The uncertainty extends even to routine scheduling, Wolff writes. Almost nobody in the president’s inner circle, including Trump himself, knows her plans until she acts on them.
Commercial Ventures Spark West Wing Anxiety
Wolff writes that staffers worry more about the first lady’s business activities than those of Trump’s children. The concern centers not on profit itself but on the visibility she generates, which could put her at odds with the president. Making money is tolerated in the Trump household, Wolff suggests, but drawing the spotlight is not.
Financial disclosure records released June 30 by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics offer a glimpse into her earnings. The 927-page document reveals that Amazon MGM Studios, controlled by Jeff Bezos, paid roughly $75 million for her documentary “Melania,” which chronicled the 20 days leading up to her husband’s second inauguration. Despite underwhelming box office results—the film brought in only $16.7 million globally—the licensing arrangement yielded $10.71 million for the Trumps. She also collected about $521,000 from her 2024 memoir, also titled “Melania.”
White House Denounces the Account
White House spokesman Davis Ingle responded sharply, calling Wolff “a lying piece of s–t.” The retort avoids addressing the substance of the column but reflects the administration’s longstanding hostility toward the author.
In his conclusion, Wolff places the first lady within a broader narrative of a president he depicts as shielded from scrutiny. Trump faces obvious political risks, he writes—questions surrounding his business dealings, his associates, and his health—yet a coalition of aides, attorneys, doctors, congressional allies, and wealthy backers has worked to suppress those questions. His wife stands apart from that apparatus: a variable the president cannot manage or predict, Wolff asserts.
Staffers believe the first lady holds considerable potential sway if she chooses to wield it, though they suspect she probably won’t turn it against the administration outright, Wolff notes. Still, they cannot dismiss the possibility—and that’s what unnerves them.
Like much of Wolff’s previous work on the Trump White House, the claims rely on anonymous sources filtered through his own perspective. The administration has rejected them categorically. Yet the journalist has once again focused on the most enigmatic figure in Trump’s world—the one who speaks least publicly and, by his account, leaves everyone around her uncertain.