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Jan. 30, 2026 11:42-11:59 - CSPAN
16:50
Washington Journal Anita McBride
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mimi geerges
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First Ladies' Impact 00:04:21
unidentified
And then Baldwin brought this speech with him.
And the exact reasons and specifics of how this happened, we don't know.
But somehow or other, he didn't end up reading it.
But a very famous person, actor at the time, without saying that it was James Baldwin's words, read these words about black global liberation coming out of the mouth of, you guessed it or not, Burt Lancaster.
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mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼
Welcome back to the program.
Joining us to talk about the role of political spouses in our nation is Anita McBride.
She is the director of the First Ladies Initiative at American University and former chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush.
Anita, welcome to the program.
unidentified
Good morning.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼
Thank you for having me, Mimi.
So first, tell us about the First Ladies Initiative at American University.
unidentified
Oh, sure.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼
Delighted to tell you how we're very proud at American University is the only university in the country to actually have a center established to study the role of American First Ladies in their legacies, contributions to our politics, our policy, and to global diplomacy.
It was established in 2011.
We host a series of conferences around the country, mostly in partnership with National Archives, Presidential Libraries, White House Historical Association.
We have a lecture series that we do, classes that we've helped to develop on First Ladies.
And over the last couple of years, very thrilled that we were, along with two co-authors, I was able to publish the first ever textbook on U.S. First Ladies that we use now at American University, but also at other universities around the country.
And just to mention your co-author of two books, Remember the First Ladies, Legacies of America's History Making Women, and also U.S. First Ladies, Making History and Leaving Legacies.
And why, Anita, is it important to understand the role of First Ladies anyway?
Well, I think we can't talk about inclusive history in our country if we don't include the role of these women and the contributions that they've made throughout the evolution of our country.
Even, you know, at the founding of our country and our founding mothers, even when these women did not have rights, they were not enshrined in our Constitution until well over 100 years after our country was founded.
But still, they found a way and an important way to ensure the survivability of our country and the ways that they engaged in supporting their husbands, but also defining issues that helped to move the country along.
And then, of course, and what we trace in the books, too, is the evolution of the country.
As women gained more rights, gained their voice in the public square, became political actors of their own, we've shined a light on how First Ladies have helped in those areas, pushing women's issues, labor issues, children's issues, health and wellness, military veterans, historic preservation, how they've engaged in political campaigns.
Every facet of our country, First Ladies have made a contribution as a partner to the presidency in an undefined role that really has enormous influence.
Melania's Platform Influence 00:12:29
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼
Well, we're bringing you on today, especially because today is the release of the film Melania by First Lady Melania Trump.
I'm going to play the trailer for it and then we'll discuss the film.
unidentified
Okay.
Here we go again.
You can come in.
Come on.
I thought I was legacy with me then a peacemaker.
Peacemaker in Detroit Together, with like-minded leaders, we have a voice.
Is it safe?
Everyone wants to know So here it is.
Hi, Mr. President.
Congratulations.
Did you watch it?
I did not.
Yeah, I will see it on the news.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼
Well, that was the trailer.
You were actually invited to the premiere last night at the Kennedy Center.
So before we get your reaction to the film itself, what was your reaction to the idea of this film coming out now?
Well, when I first heard about the film, that Mrs. Trump was doing it, and I thought, well, this was an opportunity she had to tell her life, her story, in her words.
And every single First Lady has faced that challenge on how they are defined by the public, how they are defined by the media, how they may try and control the narrative.
And of course, that's evolved over the course of our history, too, as media changes.
And in the digital age that we are living now, and of course, we have a First Lady who is a businesswoman before she became First Lady.
She has developed the way she wants to get her story out in her words.
And this is something we've not seen of other First Ladies before her that have developed such an enterprise like this while they are sitting as First Lady.
But I think given the experience she had the first time, it was a hostile environment for Melania Trump to break through the noise and how she was defined.
And she's doing this now on her terms.
Why hostile, Anita?
Well, I think the first back in 2016, when you think about the election and the response that many had in the country, I think she came into the role with a husband who was unpopular, perhaps.
And that spilled over on how she was treated.
And I think that that made it difficult.
Even everything, if you think back on it, even her Christmas decorations were criticized in those first four years.
And everything that she tried to do was, you know, dominated by, I think, a reflection of how the country felt about her husband.
So what did you think of the movie itself?
Well, I thought, and even the trailer, you know, the music is very dramatic in the trailer, and the music is very dramatic throughout the film.
And it really cinematically, it's very fast-paced.
And it's, you know, you get a sense of all of the spaces where the Trumps live, where Mrs. Trump lives, Mar-a-Lago, Trump Tower, her likes and dislikes of music.
I mean, who knew that, you know, one of her favorite artists and songs is Michael Jackson and Billie Jean, which she actually sings at one point in one of the limo rides that she's in.
So you're getting a little bit of a sense of, you know, who she is, her sense of humor as well, her focus on her business and very methodical about her choices, about the inauguration, about her clothes for the inauguration.
So it's a peek behind the curtain that, you know, in her words, she's the voiceover for the film.
I mean, she's the dominant voice.
There are some other figures, of course, that work along with her.
But it's really her, her words for, you know, an hour and 45 minutes.
If you'd like to join our conversation with Anita McBride about First Lady Melania Trump, other First Ladies, the role of political spouses, you can certainly do so.
Now, our lines are regional this time.
So if you're in Eastern or Central time zones, call us on 202-748-8000.
If you're in the Mountain or Pacific time zones, call 202-748-8001.
You can still use our line for texting.
That is 202-748-8003.
Anita, the film has been receiving criticism over its massive budget.
It is unusual for a documentary.
Amazon acquired the film for $40 million and then another $35 million just for marketing of the film.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the First Lady's cut of that is about 70%.
Is that fair criticism?
And put that in comparison to historical First Ladies and their memoirs and other ways that they have profited from the position.
Well, you know, to be honest, there is no comparison to any former First Lady because generally First Ladies do their memoir, publish their memoirs, begin to do their post-White House life work after they've left the White House.
And so, you know, this is different because this is a sitting First Lady who came into this role as a businesswoman.
And again, coming into the role a second time.
So she knows what the expectations are of her.
She's confident clearly in the way that she wants to use her platform this time for the various initiatives she's engaged in, but also knowing that it's a moment in time where she gets to start out by defining who she is and letting people know who she is in her own words, which she really did not have that opportunity in the first term.
So this is very different to any First Lady before her to do something like this.
Of course, the sums of money, you know, they're big, they're huge, no doubt about it.
Again, nothing to really compare that, to compare that to.
But that's clearly a negotiation that she had with Amazon and Amazon MGM, and they agreed to it.
And can you talk about some of the First Lady's initiatives during the second term?
Oh, sure.
Well, I think, you know, starting, you know, out right at the beginning of the administration, you know, this year at the inauguration, when she was made aware of a piece of legislation that was very important, the Take It Down Act, which, you know, is related to online safety of social media and how it was really being used in nefarious ways.
And the House had passed the bill, but it was stalled in the Senate.
And Senator Klobuchar of Minnesota shared that with her.
And I think, you know, Mrs. Trump took that on right away.
And one of her first acts as First Lady within weeks was going up to Capitol Hill, presiding over a bipartisan roundtable and had victims of this online porn talk about what was happening to them.
And within weeks, that legislation then was passed in the Senate and then not long after signed by the President.
I think that's an important use of a First Lady's platform using her voice, the power of her convening, the power of her office to shine a light on something that was important and important to the country.
And was it stalled for political reasons?
Probably.
But she helped to break through that.
So I think that's an important.
And there was also the issue of the children that were, the Ukrainian children that were kidnapped and taken to Russia.
unidentified
Absolutely.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼
That's another one.
That, you know, on a diplomatic front, I mean, there are a few examples in our history of First Ladies who really have stepped out diplomatically and had a significant role.
This is one of them, to write to President Putin about the plight of the Ukrainian children who had been abducted in their country and were living in Russia, separated from their families, who knows how they were being treated, what was happening to them, and really elevating that.
And then dramatically talking about it from the state floor of the White House to announce to the world that she had a back channel to President Putin.
She had sent that letter to him through her husband when he had a summit meeting with him.
I think that was last August.
And then had this conversation through intermediaries.
And it resulted in the release of seven children, I think, at first.
And then another group of children have been returned.
And she said she won't stop until they're all reunited with their families.
All right, let's talk to them.
Yep, let's talk to callers.
Edna is calling from Illinois.
Good morning, Edna.
unidentified
Good morning.
How's everybody today?
My question was, how much education does Melania Trump have?
She's been in the country over 20 years, and you can hardly understand what she's saying.
Maybe she could do more if she could speak clearer.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼
All right.
Go ahead, Anita.
Education.
unidentified
Sure.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼
Well, and I think that is one thing she does talk about in the film.
She's an immigrant to this country.
You know, she had only been a U.S. citizen for 10 years before she became First Lady, completely outside of the political role and had not really had a public role.
And look, as a child of immigrants myself, I have to say, you know, my grandparents never fully lost their accent either.
So I think I have a different perspective on that.
In terms of the education, which she does talk about in her book, you know, as well, she went to college but didn't finish college.
She chose another career, which was modeling, and did most of that in Europe before she came to the United States.
So I think, you know, again, understanding that this is not her first language, not her native language.
She's only the second born, foreign-born first lady, you know, in our history.
So we don't have a lot of examples like Mrs. Trump.
Linda in South Carolina, you're on the air, Linda.
unidentified
Yes, good morning.
I must have almost one of the same questions as the previous call I had.
As far as Melania Trump, why was her preference to make a movie hero?
We're going to leave this to take you live to the White House where President Trump is signing executive orders here on C-SPAN.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
And it was fast.
They've wanted to do it.
I understand they've been here hundreds of times over the years trying to do it.
And they're going to give you a little bit of history.
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