The last time a woman said “I love you,” to Donald Trump, his wife Melania was probably miles away.

More likely, these three little words escaped from the cartoonish lips of Harley Quinn’s less sane sister Laura Loomer. A recent guest on Trump Force One, Loomer is quick to express her deep love for the “greatest president ever.” Then again, she also once believed that “bad fajitas. . . will kill you faster than COVID.”

Trump, the great dealmaker, has truly traded down. His 2016 women’s circle fell in line with The Trump Organization’s corporate branding as “bold, beautiful and glamorous.” Sure, Melania was a birther, but she didn’t shout her opinions. There was a quiet elegance to the former First Lady’s racism. And while Ivanka never deserved the job of Senior Advisor to the President, she showed a polish that made it seem like she could hang with world leaders even as they rolled their eyes at her.

Still, “bold, beautiful and glamorous” was exactly what Trump hoped to project in June, 2015 when he floated down to earth from his penthouse triplex with his model wife Melania perched on the escalator in front of him like a Rolls Royce hood ornament.

In that announcement of his candidacy, Trump said point-blank, “I’m really rich.” He also said horrible things about immigrants.

The image he presented was clear: he was a man to be feared…and envied.

Melania, then in her mid-40s, appeared willingly by her husband’s side, dressed like a bride in a white strapless sheath with her shoulders and cleavage exposed. Ivanka Trump, also dressed in white, introduced her father, citing “his vision, his brilliance, his passion, his work ethic, and his refusal to take no for an answer.” Trump has since been found liable for the “forcible touching” of E. Jean Carroll. Over 20 more women have made claims of sexual misconduct against Trump.

Former model Vanessa Trump, then married to Donald Trump Jr., stood in the background, forcing a smile for the camera and all dressed in black. A cry for help? Perhaps. By 2018, Vanessa Trump had filed for divorce.

Six years later, Melania and Ivanka have hung up their campaign cleats, too. It’s possible they both stepped away as a form of nuclear deterrence: “I won’t, if you won’t.” Each turned down a speaking slot at July’s Republican National Convention choosing to be seen and not heard in the closing minutes of the four-day event. Melania’s presence on stage actually seemed to surprise her husband.

So apparently unaccustomed to his wife’s presence was he that when she appeared on stage at the RNC, Trump seemed surprised.

The loss of these........

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