First Lady Melania Trump does not say much in public, but her actions seemed to speak louder than words – or at least sent tongues wagging – when she appeared to rebuff the president’s proffered hand as the couple descended from their plane in Rome late Tuesday.
As President Trump looked to take her hand on the steps of Air Force One, Melania Trump quickly moved it out of reach, raising it to her head to adjust her hair.
That made for two such episodes in two days. She had appeared to brush Trump’s hand away at the airport in Tel Aviv during the previous stop in the president’s foreign tour. Video of that scene, often accompanied by snarky commentary, quickly went viral.
Compare that to Melania Trump’s positively hands-on visit on Wednesday to a Rome children’s hospital, Bambino Gesu, following the couple’s visit with Pope Francis.
After praying to a statue of the Madonna at the entrance to the hospital, the Catholic first lady smiled cheerfully and chatted to children, posing for selfies and providing a “very happy, maternal presence,” according to one onlooker.
“Great visiting you! Stay strong and positive! Much love, Melania Trump,” she wrote in the visitors’ book.
Staff at the hospital said Melania Trump had been buoyed by her meeting with Pope Francis, and further proof came when photos emerged of the Trumps’ quick visit to the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday.
As the president and first lady stood together to admire Michelangelo’s 16th century fresco, the Last Judgment, they held hands.