5 times Melania Trump disagreed with Donald Trump on key issues: From immigration to LGBTQ+ rights

5 times Melania Trump didn't see eye to eye with Donald Trump on key issues including backing LeBron James

Former first lady Melania Trump might support her husband, Donald Trump, for his White House ambitions by appearing alongside him at times. However, like any other married couple, both often fall into disagreements. The model-turned-first lady, Melania, is not hesitant to voice her opinions, irrespective of the possibility that they could be in stark contradiction with Donald's. Here are five times when Melania disagreed with her billionaire husband.

1. Support for LeBron James

During a 2018 interview with Don Lemon on CNN, NBA legend LeBron James claimed Trump was using sports to divide the people of America, a comment that irked the then-president. In retort, Trump deemed James unintelligent via a meltdown on X where he claimed, "Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn't easy to do. I like Mike!" However, Melania, who is an anti-bullying and online harassment advocate, disagreed with her husband and instead sided with the basketball star. The then First Lady's communications director, Stephanie Grisham, stated, "It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation and just as she always has, the First Lady encourages everyone to have an open dialogue about issues facing children today."

2. Disapproval over separating immigrant children from families

Stricter measures against illegal immigration were the focal point of the Trump presidency. A policy implemented during the 45th president's administration charged parents who illegally crossed the border, separating them from their children. The slim possibility of them reuniting had drawn intense backlash at the time. Donald's treatment of immigrants was not well received by Melania, who herself came to the US as an immigrant. The former FLOTUS' spokesperson, Grisham, said, "Mrs Trump hates to see children separated from their families" and wished "both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform". The spokesperson further added that Melania wanted the US to be "a country that governs with heart". Between April 19 and May 31 of 2018, around 2000 children were separated from their parents.

3. Calling out fake news media

Melania and Donald had two opposing views on a controversial jacket the former wore. The former first lady's jacket that had the writing 'I really do not care, do you?' on the way to a surprise visit to a detention center at the US border was criticized by many. Donald, at the time, claimed that it was actually a message for the "fake news media." Melania's spokesperson gave an entirely different explanation, declaring, "It's a jacket. There was no hidden message." However, the ex-first lady took a u-turn on the matter later, saying on ABC News, "It was kind of a message, yes," but added, "I would prefer that they focus on what I do and my initiatives than what I wear."

4. Lobbying against reversal of ban on hunting

Melania played a crucial role in convincing her husband to delay reversing a ban on hunting and importing big-game trophies from Africa, which was enacted during Barack Obama's presidency. Donald's sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, loved hunting. However, the then-president revoked the Obama-era ban in June 2020. Melania's former aide, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, said in her book 'Melania and Me', that the ex-first lady "was not sympathetic to the boys' lobbying efforts for guns and hunting or the bizarre need to hang a dead animal head on the wall. That night, she did some lobbying of her own, and her plea to Donald actually worked," slowing the reversal.

5. Clash over Donald Trump's take on LGBTQ+ bathrooms

Another instance when Melania broke ranks with Donald was regarding the issue of bathrooms for LGBTQ people. Immediately after entering the Oval Office, the real estate mogul withdrew Obama-era protections allowing transgender students in public schools to use bathrooms and facilities matching their gender identity. Wolkoff wrote in her book that Melania took issue with her husband and questioned why he got entangled in the matter. Donald apparently said, "I didn't need to get involved. I could have let the Supreme Court deal with it. But it was very important to Mike [Pence]."