Melania, The Press, And Why It Matters

By Sniffles

Okay, there are probably more important stories to talk about tonight — but maybe there aren't.

Where is Melania? She hasn't been seen in public in three weeks, and the Interwebs are speculating like crazy. One tweeter has commented interestingly to us: Michael Ian Black, who has pointed out that the media are averting their eyes, demurring questions and coverage as they never have for previous First Ladies.

We cats think that the answer to this behavior lies in part with Black's solution: that Melania is a victim, and the press recognizes her as such. But the other piece of it, in our humble opinion, is that the source of any information about her — her marriage, her son, what she thinks about the White House, her husband's slimy adult children, the media, etc. — would be her closest friends who would be speaking on the record with the DC press.

Which means we cats don't think Melania has any friends. No one surfaced as a Melania advocate or spokeswoman during the campaign. We can only assume that that's a result of her wanting to keep her beautiful-people gal pals away from her adulterous spouse — and said spouse, tempestuous as he is, not wanting her to have any sounding boards he can't control.

But another reason Melania gets away with the eye-averting is that the nature of the White House coverage has changed so much since the old days of Mamie, Jackie and Lady Bird.

Back then, there was an entire press corps dedicated to Washington society. Heck, there was a Washington society, one of the leaders of which was the First Lady. That press corps, like that social scene, no longer exists. There's nobody whose job it is to check in with the East Wing 10 times a day to find out whether the President put Vermont or New York maple syrup on his pancakes that morning, and what color the dinner napkins were at the most recent State Dinner.

We're not saying we pine for those days — but even if the East Wing coverage was always, in the end, just blather, it matters today that we don't know what the story is with Melania and her alleged kidney ailment. Because in the age of Trump, the only truth is that which you believe to be the truth.

Therefore, why shouldn't we be asking after her health, and whether her five-day hospitalization for a routine outpatient procedure was the result of a Norman Maine-type punch or, worse, a beating? And why hasn't she been out in public since? As an alleged crusader against bullying, she should have gone to Santa Fe High with Trump to comfort the school shooting victims and to soften his presence. But she didn't. Inquiring minds want to know why.

As we said, it's not the most important issue hanging over this hideous Administration and the damage it's doing to our democracy. But the nation still deserves to know. We cats HISS.