Grisham, who departed the first administration after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, contended the first lady “does things when she deems them important, regardless of whether they benefit the West Wing.”

“I’m sure she and her team feel they are being strategic, but from an outside perspective it doesn’t always seem to be the case,” she said.

That independence was on display Tuesday when Melania Trump appeared at the White House to present awards for her Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge, a program one Trump administration official described to Politico as the “carrot to the stick” of the president’s broader AI agenda.

As the administration faces pushback from some technology companies over its approach to regulating artificial intelligence, the first lady delivered an unabashedly optimistic message about the technology’s potential benefits.

“AI can help us build a stronger community, making our publicly-funded social programs more efficient and more effective,” the first lady told the six award-winning student teams gathered in the White House’s East Room. “It allows us to deliver more personalized education and in return, will unlock growth in America’s economy. Keep using artificial intelligence as a muse to open new pathways and, ultimately, to achieve personal growth and success.”

Melania Trump’s public comments have not always aligned with the White House’s political interests. In April, she surprised aides when she issued a public statement distancing herself from the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while calling for public hearings so survivors could testify before Congress.

“I am not Epstein’s victim,” she said. “I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant. Was never on Epstein’s plane. And never visited his private island.”

Donald Trump told MS Now in the aftermath that he did not “know anything about” the first lady’s statement before she made it.

Melania Trump’s spokesman, Nicholas Clemens, told reporters at the time that the West Wing was advised that the first lady would be making a statement, but did not comment when asked whether the president’s aides were advised of its subject matter.

The episode underscored the degree to which the East Wing often operates independently from the president’s political team, even on issues the White House would prefer to avoid. That dynamic is not new.

During the first administration, Melania Trump frequently frustrated both critics and supporters by refusing to conform to expectations surrounding the role of first lady.

A leaked 2020 recording captured her irritation with the criticism she received while preparing White House Christmas decorations.

“They say I’m complicit,” she said. “I’m working … my a** off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f*** about the Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, right?”

During Donald Trump’s second administration, she has expanded her advocacy of children to foster children affected by the Russia–Ukraine war, as well as cyberbullying and revenge porn through the Take It Down Act. She has also come under scrutiny for promoting her memoir and documentary, both entitled Melania.

SONDERLING ACTING HIS WAY INTO PERMANENT ROLE ATOP LABOR DEPARTMENT

For Grisham, Melania Trump is “definitely forging a new path for future first ladies,” an unelected but politically fraught position.

“I do think they should be able to mold the role in whatever way best fits them,” she said. “While I was sometimes frustrated with Melania for doing what I deemed the bare minimum in her role, I respected her choice to prioritize being a mother and the fact that she never wavered on how or when she wanted to act.”