The removal of the top aide to John Bolton after she was publicly denounced by first lady Melania Trump was seen by many as a demonstration of the first lady’s power in the White House.
But the reality might be the opposite. The public call for Mira Ricardel to be dismissed was without modern parallel. Although it was successful — Ricardel is being shifted to another job inside the Trump administration — it begged the question why the first lady was not able to secure the same outcome with a private intervention.
“That is jaw dropping,” said Kate Anderson Brower, author of First Woman: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies. “It’s also odd because when you wield true power as a first lady, you don’t need to be so transparent. It’s called pillow talk, and your influence is behind closed doors,” Anderson Bower said.
“It’s not unusual for a first lady to be protective of their husband and to weigh in on his staff — Nancy Reagan famously got her husband’s chief of staff Don Regan fired and she was known internally as “the human resources department” — but it is unprecedented for a first lady to issue a statement demanding that her husband fire someone.”
Karen Tumulty, who is writing a biography of former first lady Nancy Reagan, said that those who believed Ricardel’s removal from the White House showed that Melania Trump had strong influence were mistaken.
“Her decision to go public with this is the opposite. It means she was unable to make her case internally. At least, she was unable to persuade her husband to get rid of her. To me, it felt like a signal that she was pretty frustrated.”
The first lady released a statement Tuesday arguing that deputy national security adviser Ricardel no longer deserved “the honor of working in this White House.” The statement came after Ricardel clashed with the first lady’s staff during Melania Trump’s trip to Africa last month over seating assignments on the plane and requests to use National Security Council resources. The first lady’s office also suspected Ricardel was behind some negative stories about Trump and her staff.
White House press team were unaware the first lady planned to release a statement, but some within the administration were aware that Ricardel and the first lady’s staff had a spat on the trip to Africa last month.
Melania Trump reportedly lobbied the president to consider firing Ricardel, who has made a number of enemies within the administration, such as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and members of his team. The spat with the first lady appeared to be enough to force the president’s hand. The administration announced Wednesday that Ricardel would be vacating her role as deputy national security adviser and would take up another role in the administration.
“Mira Ricardel will continue to support the president as she departs the White House to transition to a new role within the administration. The president is grateful for Ms. Ricardel’s continued service to the American people and her steadfast pursuit of his national security priorities,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement Thursday.
By laying bare divisions within the White House and involving herself in a public dispute, Melania Trump may have made her traditional role as first lady more difficult. Anita McBride, who served as chief of staff to former first lady Laura Bush said: “First lady’s offices do such great things, and you never want to be a story or distraction.”
