Mika Brzezinski sits for a one-on-one interview with wife of Donald Trump, Melania Trump, to discuss growing up in Slovenia, her marriage and her husband's campaign.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. When did Melania Trump first arrive in the US?
2. What did Melania study in Slovenia?
3. How many languages does she speak?
4. What did her father do?
5. What did she see in Donald Trump when they met?
6. What does she think when she hears her husband being insulted?
7. Has Donald Trump insulted Mexicans?
8. What’s the difference between Melania’s immigration story and that of the immigrants her husband talks about?
9. Why does Donald Trump want to ban Muslims into US?
10. Do Melania and Donald always agree?
11. How does she communicate with her husband?
12. How does Donal Trump treat women?
Melania Trump first arrived in the United States from her native Slovenia back in 1996 and now, two decades later, she is facing the prospect of becoming First Lady. Yesterday I sat down with Melania Trump and got her to weigh in on everything, from her husband's rhetoric surrounding immigration to his propensity for profanity on the stump to his treatment of women. I began by asking her how the entire experience has been so far.
Well, it's amazing what's going on, and we’re having fun. I like to keep life as normal as possible for my son better Baron and I'm a full-time mom and I love it, so I decided not to be in the campaign so much but I support my husband hundred percent.
We want to understand who Melania is.
I grew up in Slovenia and I went to school there. I studied design and architecture and then I moved to Milan and Paris to live there. And I had a successful modelling career. I came to New York 1996.
How many languages do you speak?
I speak a few languages.
A few?
Yeah.
English…
English, Italian, French, German.
Tell me about your mother.
Really special. She's with a lot of elegance and style. She was in fashion industry for a long time. What did your father do?
He was a sales person and then he was a manager of the company, and once the Slovenia separated, it was possible to have his own business, he opened his own business.
What was it that you saw in Donald when you met him or fell in love with him?
His mind, amazing mind, and very smart, very charming, a great energy. We have a great relationship. We are, we are our own people. I'm my own person. He's his own person, and I think that's very important. I don't want to change him, he doesn't want to change me.
I got a list of terms that have been used to describe your husband from the left, the right and the center, and they're not pretty, from stupid to demagogue, jerk, idiot, racist, sexist, race-baiting, xenophobic, vulgarian-in-chief, textbook narcissist. It goes on. What do you make of all this when you hear it?
It's normal that it will come up it's… we are prepared for that, we have a thick skin and we know that people will judge him and people will call names, and they don't give him enough credit from June that he announced, they don't give him enough credit.
What about people who feel he is let's just go down the list because the campaign started and many felt he had insulted Mexicans no I don't feel he insulted the Mexicans.
No I don’t feel he insulted the Mexicans, he said illegal immigrants, he didn't talk about everybody. He talked about illegal immigrants and after a few weeks, like after two weeks giving him a hard time and bashing him in the in the media, they turned around and said, you know what, he's right, he's right what he's talking about, and he open conversation that nobody did.
But you're an immigrant?
Yes.
Do you ever think he's gone too far?
I follow the law. I follow a lot of the way is supposed to be. I never thought to stay here without papers. I had visa. I travelled every few months back to the country, to Slovenia, to stamp the visa. I came back, I applied for the green card. I applied for the citizenship later on after many years of Green Card, so I went by system, I went by the law, and you should do that, you should not just say, okay let me just stay here, and whatever happens, happens.
When he talked about a ban on Muslims, which can't happen for so many reasons, I mean do you ever think he's going too far with some of this, do you ever worry about it?
What he said is it would be temporary and it's not for all the Muslims. It's the one… we need to screen them who is coming to the country, he wants to protect America, he wants to protect people of America so we have a country and keep our country safe. That's very important to him, and what's going on in the world, it's very dangerous. You have people coming in the country you don't know who they are, you don't know what they will do, and that's why he was talking about that. It's temporary, we need to figure it out how and what we will do that we know who is in this country.
What about some of the language he uses, he curses.
Well, do I agree all the time, we team? No, I don't, And I tell him that. I tell him my opinions. I tell him what I think. Sometimes he listens, sometimes he don't.
In what areas do you advise him?
I follow the news from A to Z and I know what's going on. I’m on the phone with my husband few times a day. He calls me, I call him. I tell him what's going on, he's on the road. I give him my opinions.
Let me ask about women. He's taken a lot of criticism, kerfuffle, of course, during the debate with Megyn Kelly. In the Trump Organization, how are women treated compared to men?
They’re treated equal. I see him in life. He treats women the same as men. He will tell you what is in his heart, what he thinks, he will not hold it back if you're a woman. You’re human, you're human, you're not… it's a woman or a man, it's no difference, you’re human.
So I asked Melania if there are any specific issues she hopes to take on if her husband wins the White House. She said she has ideas but wouldn't reveal yet what they are, she wants to focus on their son.
Yeah.
Well, I've met her on many occasions before and so I was not surprised she's extremely cultured and articulate. She speaks many languages and thought that, you know, she put it out there and explained exactly who she is and where she's come from, and people can make their own decisions. She seems quite lovely, though, and they were very welcoming last night.
Up next, we'll head to the New York Stock Exchange for oil is once again pulling Wall Street into negative territory. Stay with us.
Key:
1 1996
2 design and architecture
3 four (English, Italian, French, German)
4 He was a sales person and then he was a manager of the company
5 His mind, and very smart, very charming, a great energy
6 She feels it’s normal, but doesn’t mind
7 No, he only spoke about illegal immigrants
8 She went by the law. She did everything legally
9 To protect America
10 No
11 On the phone several times a day
12 The same as men
