Politics / Melania Trump Melania on 2020 Election: 'It Was a Mess' Former first lady dishes on that, her first encounter with husband, son Barron, and more in new book By Jenn Gidman, Newser Staff Posted Oct 9, 2024 7:07 AM CDT Copied Former President Trump, left, and Melania Trump are seen during the Republican National Convention on July 18 in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Melania Trump's new memoir, Melania, dropped on Tuesday, and the reviews range from describing it as one of "graceful grievance" to calling it "truly bad" and "deeply weird." The former first lady's remarks about her stance on abortion rights earned attention before the 256-page book was even officially released, but she touches on much more in her revelations. Among them, per the BBC and USA Today: Meeting Donald: Trump mentions her first encounter with her future husband, which took place in September 1988 at the Kit Kat Klub in New York City. "From the moment our conversation began, I was captivated by his charm and easygoing nature," she writes. Barron: Trump talks about a "repulsive" tweet shortly after the 2016 election by comedian Rosie O'Donnell that suggested the Trumps' then-10-year-old son Barron may have been autistic. Although there's "nothing shameful about autism," Trump writes that "I was appalled by such cruelty" on the part of O'Donnell, who eventually deleted the tweet. "It was clear to me that she was not interested in raising awareness about autism. I felt that she was attacking my son because she didn't like my husband." 2020 election: The former first lady apparently agrees with the false GOP claim echoed by her husband that he was the actual winner at the polls. "It was a mess," she writes of the ballot counting that November. "I am not the only person who questions the results." Assassination attempt: Trump calls her husband's survival after being shot at during a July rally in Pennsylvania "nothing short of a miracle." She notes that she "watched the chaos unfold" on TV from Bedminster, New Jersey, and that she was only able to speak to the former president after "what felt like an eternity." "[E]ach time we saw Donald's bloodied face, I had to remind myself that I had actually just spoken to him," she writes. What's missing: Any mention of any of the women who've either said they had an extramarital dalliance with Donald Trump (Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal) or been sexually abused by him (writer E. Jean Carroll). Report an error