President Donald J. Trump may have only begun his second term on Jan. 20, 2025 — less than a month ago, as of this article’s publication date — but both he, first lady Melania Trump and the entire Trump family have been making their presence known in a myriad of ways.
America’s first lady, for her part, has been attracting attention near and far for her return to the White House for the second time.
In the new issue of Hello! magazine, official photographer Régine Mahaux told the publication exclusively, “She’s always been hands-on, but she’s more free nowadays to make a statement.”
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Mahaux added, “She’s a different person than she was eight years ago and has always been true to herself.”
Melania Trump, said Mahaux and others, has “grown in confidence and stepped into her second term as first lady with newfound authority,” reported the magazine, which covers celebrity, royal and socialite news.
Melania Trump is shown on the cover of Hello!’s Feb. 12, 2025, edition. This is image is courtesy Hello! and is used by permission. (Régine Mahaux/Hello!)
“There is something in her — the strong woman — but at the same time, there is the soft power.”
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Mahaux added to the publication, “She’s really good at balancing her husband. He’s happy to make her happy and that’s something very cute.”
Melania Trump is shown arriving at Trump Tower in New York City last summer, July 31, 2024, flanked by NYPD and the Secret Service. (Probe-Media for Fox News Digital)
And “this has not changed since 2008” — when Mahaux first began photographing the Trumps, she added.
“He’s a person who cares about his wife, and that’s what I see every morning and night. He loves to look at her,” said Mahaux of President Trump.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump kisses Melania Trump at an election night watch party on Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Alex Brandon/AP)
Among the other points made in the Hello! piece is Melania Trump’s special relationship with the couple’s son, Barron Trump, who is 18.
The president’s youngest child is a college student.
Barron Trump was seen around campus recently at NYU in New York City after his father’s inauguration as 47th president of the United States. (Probe-Media)
He was recently seen out and about the New York University (NYU) campus, where he’s attending the Stern School of Business.
‘Must take charge’
Melania Trump — before she even met the president — first stepped foot on United States soil at age 26.
The Trumps are pictured very early on in their relationship. (Melania Trump)
Born Melania Knauss, she came to America from Slovenia in 1996 with “youthful confidence.”
“As an adult, there comes a moment when you become solely responsible for the life you lead,” she wrote in her bestselling memoir, “Melania.”
Melania Trump waves after marrying Donald Trump at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda by-the-Sea in Florida, Jan. 22, 2025. (Jeffrey Langlois/Palm Beach Daily News/Imagn)
“You must take charge, embrace that responsibility, and become the architect of your own future.”
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She also wrote, “Life’s circumstances shape you in many ways, often entirely beyond your control — your birth, parental influences and the world in which you grow up.”
Two presidents, Trump and Barack Obama, share a laugh as former first lady Michelle Obama, at right, and first lady Melania Trump, at left, look on following inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as 45th president on Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (Mike Segar/Reuters – RTSWJBX)
Two years after living in Manhattan, the future Mrs. Trump met the real-estate mogul at a party while she was still heavily involved in her modeling career.
“He wanted my number, but he was with a date, so of course I didn’t give it to him,” the first lady said in a 2016 interview with Harper’s Bazaar.
Melania Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Magnolia Woods on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, in Huntersville, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
“I said, ‘I am not giving you my number; you give me yours, and I will call you.’ I wanted to see what kind of number he would give me — if it was a business number, ‘What is this? I’m not doing business with you.’”
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Once the president gave her all his numbers, she called him within a week, as Fox News Digital previously reported.
She said she was “struck by his energy.”
The Trumps wave at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
In 2004, Trump proposed to the future first lady at the Met Gala in New York City.
The next year, the Trumps said “I do” at a luxurious wedding, publicly described as being fit for royalty — from the stunning gown worn by the bride to the exquisite reception at Mar-a-Lago.
New chapter of life
As Melania Trump now settles into the White House once again in 2025, “I know the rooms where we will be living. I know the process,” she told “Fox & Friends” in a recent interview.
The Trumps arrive at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 8, 2025 in Washington, D.C., to pay respects to the late former President Jimmy Carter as he was lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda and to meet with Republican Senate members. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“The first time was challenging,” she said. “We didn’t have much of the information.”
She added, “But this time, I have everything. I have plans … So, it’s very different.”
The Trumps at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, as Trump takes office for his second term as 47th president of the United States. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS)
With a “renewed sense of purpose,” as Hello! magazine put it in its recent cover story, the first lady is said to be “doubling down” on causes that are close to her.
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This includes her Be Best! anti-cyberbullying campaign, plus advocating for children in foster care, the publication noted.
Melania Trump and her designer, Hervé Pierre, have chosen to present her inaugural gown to the Smithsonian Institution. (Reuters)
The president dances with his wife at the Liberty Inaugural Ball on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Despite the first lady’s high-glamour image, those close to her describe a “hardworking and dedicated leader.”
She often starts as “early as 6:30 a.m.” and works “past midnight,” Hello! noted.
This newly released official portrait of America’s first lady was taken on Jan. 21, 2025, in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House residence by photographer Régine Mahaux. (White House)
Melania Trump is described as “an impressive, independent and strong woman who knows what she wants and how she’s going to get it.” (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
In its exclusive piece, Hello! noted that the first lady is already hard at work in the White House on “revamping the historical residence while preserving its legacy.”
The magazine also described her as “an impressive, independent and strong woman who knows what she wants and how she’s going to get it.”
Mrs. Trump has “grown in confidence and stepped into her second term as first lady with newfound authority,” said the publication. (“Fox & Friends”)
It added, “She is ready to embrace the responsibility that comes with being one of the planet’s most recognizable women.”
The Hello! magazine cover photo of Melania Trump that appears in this article is by permission of Hello! Magazine.
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