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UPDATE: A spokeswoman for Melania Trump Monday morning slammed what she called a “salacious” report in Vanity Fair, which alleged that she never wanted to be First Lady. Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s communications director, said Melania Trump was “honoured” by her role and blasted the “liberal media” for publishing a story “riddled with unnamed sources and false assertions.”

“As a magazine tailored to women it is shameful that they continue to write salacious and false stories meant to demean Mrs Trump, rather than focus on her positive work as First Lady as a supportive wife and mother,” said Grisham.

The original story follows:

Melania Trump never had any interest in becoming first lady, but she encouraged Donald Trump to run for president because she probably never expected that he would win, according to a new report in Vanity Fair.

Melania had also grown tired of his indecision about whether to get involved in politics, a longtime Trump adviser told the magazine.

“She was very clearly the one who said, ‘Either run or don’t run,’ ” explained Roger Stone, a veteran Republican consultant and an early Trump adviser. Stone continued, paraphrasing what Melania might have said: ” ‘Your friends are tired of this striptease. Every four years you talk about it.’ ”

“She knew it was in his blood,” Stone added. “He always wanted to run. She is the one who pushed him to run just by saying ‘run or do not run’. I don’t think she was ever too crazy about it.”

It was also clear to Stone that Melania Trump viewed her husband’s entry into politics as “Donald’s thing,” not her thing, according to the Vanity Fair report on Melania’s “secretive East Wing” and her tenure so far as first lady.

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Another person who agreed that presidential politics was never “Melania’s thing” is Trump’s first wife, Ivana Trump. The mother of Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump was overheard at a party in 2015, talking about her ex-husband’s presidential prospects. She viewed Melania as a liability.

“The problem is, what is he going to do with his third wife?” Ivana Trump was heard saying, according to New York Daily News. “She can’t talk, she can’t give a speech, she doesn’t go to events, she doesn’t seem to want to be involved.”

A longtime Trump family friend agreed that there probably has never been an American first lady less prepared or suited for the role.

“This isn’t something she wanted, and it isn’t something he ever thought he’d win,” the friend told Vanity Fair. “She didn’t want this come hell or high water. I don’t think she thought it was going to happen.”

But it’s turned out that Melania Trump could be one of the Trump presidency’s best assets. That might not be saying much, given that President Trump’s approval rating at this point in his presidency is lower than any president in the history of modern polling.

But Melania Trump is at least more popular than her husband, with 44 percent of respondents in a recent CNN poll holding a favorable view of her versus his approval rating of 41 percent.

Melania Trump is also better liked than her stepdaughter Ivanka Trump, a White House adviser to the president, who only has a 41 percent favorable rating. Her favorability rating is also much higher than son-in-law and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, whose favorability rating is only 20 percent.

A great deal else about Melania Trump’s tenure so far as first lady remains secretive, the Vanity Fair report said.

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For example, it’s not entirely clear what she does with her days. She certainly is less visibly busy than her predecessors Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton or Barbara Bush, Vanity Fair said.

It also wasn’t until September that she gave her first public comments in her long-awaited anti-bullying campaign, speaking “haltingly” at a United Nations luncheon for spouses of world leaders, Vanity Fair said. Melania Trump said in her speech: “By our own example, we must teach children to be good stewards of the world they will inherit.”

What also remains mysterious is the state of the Trump marriage, the Vanity Fair story said.

When Melania Trump delayed her move to the White House, there was speculation that the marriage was troubled. The White House insisted that she wanted to stay in New York until June so that her son Barron, 11, could finish his school year in New York. She and Barron, in fact, made the move to Washington, D.C., in early summer.

According to the Vanity Fair article, Melania’s friends are divided on how she feels about her husband, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual harassment or assault.

One friend told Vanity Fair that it’s “old news” that Melania and Donald Trump lead essentially separate lives.

But another friend said that the president relies on his third wife, perhaps more than anyone.

“The one who has the most control over Donald is Melania, 100 percent,” Thomas Barrack Jr., one of Trump’s oldest friends, told Vanity Fair. “And he listens to her and adores her.”