Why in the world is Melania Trump leading a UN security council meeting? |
“We ended DEI in America,” Donald Trump boasted during his State of the Union (SOTU) address on Tuesday.
Unlike many things the president said in his excruciatingly long SOTU speech, this was actually half true. The Trump administration’s “war on woke” has pushed a lot of large companies and institutes to retreat from the diversity, equity and inclusion policies they used to pretend to be proud of.
But while DEI may be dead, WTF hiring is very much alive. Being Wealthy, Trumpy, and/or Fox News-famous seem to be the only qualifications you need for success in Trump’s USA. See, for example, the entire Trump administration: a horrifying hodgepodge of unqualified sycophants. See also, hot off the press, Melania Trump’s new gig at the United Nations. It’s been announced that the first lady will lead a session of the United Nations security council on Monday titled Children, Technology, and Education in Conflict.
It can’t be stressed enough that this is highly unusual. As the White House noted in a statement: “Mrs Trump’s leadership will mark the first time a sitting US first lady presides over the security council.” Back in precedented times, you see, you generally needed a qualification or two to lead the security council. Now, however, we’re squarely in the WTF economy: Melania is a Trump, ergo automatically qualified to do anything her little heart desires.
What I want to know is why exactly Melania’s heart desires this. It’s true that the first lady likes a project and has kept herself very busy with her meme coins and coffee table books and film ventures. She has also made moves to position herself as a leading voice in the area of responsible technology for children and children in conflict. But, despite her pet projects, she’s kept a low profile as first lady and hasn’t seemed particularly enthused about public service or multilateralism.
It is my working hypothesis that there are only two reasons a Trump ever does anything: money or malice. I’m not sure holding the gavel at Monday’s security council session is particularly........