Does the first lady have a say in White House appointments?

While first ladies have been known historically to pressure their husbands over official business behind the scenes, doing so via a public statement of this kind has never been done before.

Michelle Obama is understood to have had a tense relationship with her husband’s first press secretary Robert Gibbs while George Stephanopolous recounted his run-ins with Hillary Clinton when Bill was in the Oval Office in his memoir. In the 1980s, Capitol Hill gossip often concerned feuds between Nancy Reagan and chief of staff Don Regan.

Ultimately, the responsibilities of a first lady are only loosely defined and how the current incumbent enacts the role depends very much on their personality.

Dolley Madison, wife of the fourth president James Madison, is credited with setting the template for first ladies to follow in the early 19th century by furnishing the White House, working to help orphans and women and attracting press interest due to her modish manner of dress. She was given an honorary seat on the floor of Congress and her popularity contributed enormously to her husband’s appeal.

Her example set the standard for others to follow until Eleanor Roosevelt redefined the position between 1933 and 1945 on the strength of her outspoken character.

Ahead of her time in attitudes to race and gender, Eleanor Roosevelt held regular press conferences, wrote newspaper and magazine columns, hosted a radio show, spoke at party conventions and was never afraid to publicly disagree with her husband’s policy agenda.

As first lady, Melania Trump has largely cut a reserved figure, typically staying away from the limelight other than when promoting her anti-bullying agenda.

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Her previous brush with major controversy came in June when she chose to wear a green army coat with “I really don’t care, do u?” painted on the back while visiting a migrant detention centre in Texas. President Trump explained on Twitter the offending jacket was intended as a rejection of “the Fake News Media”.