The cheekbones. The dead-eyed stare. The big hats. That White House Christmas photo. For decades now, people have been wondering: Who is Melania Trump? The First Lady opens her 2024 memoir with a story about leaving her family in Slovenia to immigrate to America as a 26-year-old model. Ten years later, she became an American citizen. “It was not an easy process,” she writes. “And my personal experience dealing with the trials of the immigration process opened my eyes to the difficulties faced by all who wish to become US citizens.”
OK, but what does that mean, exactly? Her husband, in both his terms as president, put harshly enforcing immigration policy at the center of his domestic agenda. This is all to say that I was authentically excited to see Melania, the documentary that Amazon paid $40 million to acquire and $35 million to market. The director, Brett Ratner, previously accused of sexual misconduct by six different women, is currently in the news thanks to his appearance in a photo included in the most recent dump of Epstein files. (Rattner has previously denied sexual misconduct allegations.) What is Melania like behind closed doors? The trailer—a monument to editing wizardry—reveals little except that Mrs. Trump perhaps didn’t attend her husband’s inauguration (ultimately she did).
It turns out, I’m not the only one who wanted to watch. While a WIRED analysis found only two movie theaters had sold out opening day screenings, local Republican groups across the country arranged parties to support the film, helping opening weekend reach $7 million or so in ticket sales. WIRED attended two such events, in Florida and California, to ask people what they love about the First Lady, what they make of her recent foray into artificial intelligence, and what, ultimately, they too want to find out about her.
Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Name: Darlene Lauzurique
Immigration is leading the news, and Mrs. Trump was born in Slovenia. What do you think the media gets right and wrong about the Trumps’ attitudes toward immigration?
Oh, that’s a hot topic for me. I’m an immigrant like Melania. But I came here legally, and I did everything by the books. And I believe that this country will give the opportunity to other people to immigrate and grow and have a business—have a dream. I consider myself the American dream because I have a business. My property is paid off. I have investments and so on. And I don’t want to be cocky, but it’s the truth. But everything has to go by the book and by law, law and order. That’s it.
What are you most excited to see revealed in the film?
I want to see the Melania that nobody else sees.
Name: Julio César Enriquez
What made you fall in love with Melania Trump?
The five virtues of a successful woman. Melania is prudent, sincere, elegant, has a remarkable memory because she doesn’t forget her origins, and is a great partner for a great leader.
Where do you think she’s had the biggest impact as First Lady?
Her ability to speak up when she disagrees with decisions, without getting into controversies with her husband—that’s a very important balance. She’s always by his side, supporting him, accompanying him, and pursuing a very important social agenda.
Name: Ozzy Perez
Where do you think Melania has had the biggest impact as First Lady?
Her support for the military. Since I was in the military, I respect that a lot. She has an incredible love for the military. And she’s a naturalized citizen—she wasn’t naturally born here. So that’s even more impressive.
When did you serve?
I served from 2002 to 2007. I signed up the day after 9/11.
Cool. Did you deploy?
I was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. So the invasion, ’03, ’04, and then the invasion of Fallujah, ’04, ’05. And then the invasion of Haditha, ’05. ’06. So back to back to back. Three Christmases in a row, missed both my kids’ births. It was a crazy time. Tempo was out of control.
Name: Millie Fresen
What do you love most about Melania?
Everything. I love her. She’s classy. She’s the best-looking first lady we’ve had. She’s very intelligent. She’s very … I love her.
Where do you think she’s had the biggest impact as First Lady?
Being married to Donald Trump.
Mrs. Trump is promoting AI in life and in schools. Do you agree with her that artificial intelligence opens up the imagination?
Yes.
Do you use AI in your own life?
No, I don’t use it because I’m 82 years old. But for my kids and grandkids, I love it.
Immigration is leading the news, and Mrs. Trump was born in Slovenia. What do you think the media gets right and wrong about the Trumps’ attitudes toward immigration?
All the media is wrong about immigration. I am Cuban, so I’m an immigrant, but I am a legal immigrant. I came with permission to be here, and that’s what I believe. Legal immigration.
Names: Steven Befera
What do you love most about Melania?
I like her style and the fact that she always carries herself well and is very well-spoken. As an immigrant and a model, it comes with all these preconceptions of that “dumb blonde,” but she’s really very smart and has a good heart.
Where do you think she’s had the biggest impact as First Lady?
If you look at Melania, she lives her own life. She’s not totally dependent on being in the White House. She’s got a life in New York. She’s got a son going to NYU. And she has other interests other than just the White House. So I think the fact that she can come and still do her work there, but still have another life is unprecedented really, if you look at First Ladies from the past.
Name: Noli Zaldivar
What do you love most about Melania?
She is a strong woman. I love that she doesn’t need anybody’s approval. She truly just stands on her own. She stands on her beliefs. There’s so much criticism around her because she’s not your cookie-cutter First Lady. She’s not this older lady. She’s not this person who’s running around trying to people-please and smile and be super friendly. I love that she’s true to herself. She’s got this inner strength.
Where do you think she’s had the biggest impact as First Lady?
I think her biggest impact has been on children and hunger, children who need education, who need homes.
She has a very tough exterior. If you were married to Donald Trump, I mean, he’s a very tough guy to be married to. You need to have a tough exterior because you’re having a lot of stuff thrown at you. That’s who she is. She’s tough on the outside, but she’s got an amazing heart inside.
What are you excited to see revealed in the movie?
I really just want to see her perspective on the madness, because I think [Donald Trump] loves the madness. I think he’s lived his life in this limelight. I don’t see her like that, so I’m interested in seeing what her perspective is, just having to deal with all the photographers, and all of the people, and the rumors, and the talking.
Name: Lilly Perez
Where do you think she’s had the biggest impact as First Lady?
As First Lady, especially this second term, it’s that she cares about kids and she’s helping a lot of kids to be released from Russia to Ukraine. And she has done flights, many of them.
Mrs. Trump is promoting AI in life and in schools. Do you agree that AI unlocks the imagination?
Well, there’s a lot of people that are afraid of losing their jobs. But in the end it’s going to help a lot of people to do things faster. So we have to wait until it develops.
What do you think the media gets right and wrong about the Trumps’ attitudes toward immigration?
Sometimes he tells jokes and then they take it seriously. So they don’t understand him, really. I was a political prisoner in Cuba. So I suffered a lot with communists. So I’m 100 percent backing him and Marco Rubio, so they get rid of the communists in Cuba.
Names: Marianela Joli and Mayra Joli
What do you love most about Melania?
Mayra Joli: That she knows what it’s like to raise a family. She knows what it means to be a woman and a wife. And sometimes to turn a deaf ear to people who don’t give proper or accurate information.
Where do you think she’s had the biggest impact as First Lady?
Mayra Joli: She has elegance. She knows how to speak, how to command a whole stage and speak properly. And besides that, she’s a super intelligent woman. She doesn’t speak just one language—she speaks more than four languages.
She’s from Slovenia, right? She’s an immigrant.
Mayra Joli: She’s an immigrant, just like me.
Where are you from?
Mayra Joli: I’m from the Dominican Republic.
Your sister mentioned how well she presents herself …
Marianela Joli: You’re a lady, I’m a lady. And there are women who don’t behave like ladies—they behave like anything. But a lady is class, clothing, carrying yourself properly, walking correctly. A woman who respects herself. And as a mother, she’s excellent. Excellent. Otherwise her son wouldn’t be who he is today.
Name: Madeline Abernathy, member of Kern County Young Republicans
Where do you think Melania has had the biggest impact as First Lady?
I was a little bit hesitant about what she would do in the first election—we didn’t really know too much about her. And after she came on as the First Lady, the second time, I feel like we’ve learned more. She has different initiatives that she’s coming out with, AI, technology, and for children as well. Her big passion for foster care and AI in science is very important.
Do you use AI in your own life?
Yes.
ChatGPT, or … ?
Yes, ChatGPT mainly, like if there’s different types of bills or legislation or rules, regulations in oil and gas, just to be able to research it more in depth, to explain it.
Name: Jared Vegas, administrative vice chair of Kern County Young Republicans
What do you love most about Melania?
I’m going to be honest, I don’t know a ton about the First Lady. That’s why I’m really excited to see this movie, just to learn more about her. The biggest thing that I think of when I think of her is that we’re not against immigration in this country. We’re against illegal immigration, and she immigrated here legally and followed the process.
I think that’s a good kind of dynamic to have when our president is constantly viewed right now as the guy who’s just deporting everybody. It’s like, well, no, he’s not against legal immigration. His wife wouldn’t be here if he was against legal immigration. He’s only against illegal immigration. So I like that aspect of it. I think it’s a good symbol.
Describe her in three words.
Calculated. She calculates everything. She’s calculated. Intelligent. And I guess beautiful. I mean, she’s got to be the prettiest First Lady we’ve ever had.
Was there a particular moment that stands out to you about her, that shaped your view of her?
I don’t know if it’s really a particular moment per se. It’s more like every time I’ve seen her in public or heard her speak, she’s just very graceful and respectful to everybody she talks to. Her husband, who I like in many ways, can sometimes be disrespectful. But I’ve never seen a moment where she’s very blatantly disrespectful to those around her.
The First Lady has talked a lot about AI recently. Do you use AI in your own life?
Oh yeah, all the time. I work as a sales guy at my main job, at a perimeter security company. We sell electrified security fencing to businesses to protect them from criminals that come in and steal their stuff.
So the thing is, there are so many people I talk to throughout the day, because I’m going into businesses and talking to owners and I’m looking at the sites. And obviously there’s a lot of things I have to remember. After I finish a meeting, I walk out and I take notes on everything. And then I use AI to modify them, to complete sentences, to make it make sense. It’s a super helpful tool in my day-to-day.
What do you think the media gets wrong about the Trumps’ views on immigration?
Well, I think the media often tries to victimize criminal behavior, in the sense that they want to feel bad for people because they come from such hard countries, and then say, “Oh, well, then that justifies the bad behavior to get here,” like in the sense of breaking the law. And Trump’s very, very clear on this. Look, if you come here illegally, that in and of itself is a crime and justifies deportation.
That being said, there are some people that are more dangerous to our current society that not only broke the law of coming into the country illegally, but also committing other heinous crimes. So let’s focus on those people primarily, which has been the primary focus of the Trump administration. Have they gotten other people? Sure. But is the primary focus those that are breaking multiple laws? Yes.
Names: Addy Eggers and Sarah Fanucchi
What do you think has been Melania’s biggest impact as First Lady?
Addy: She’s just been such a good supporter of Trump. She’s supported all the things that he’s put into action, all the things with ICE. She’s just been there through it all, supporting him. And I think that’s the main role of a First Lady, to be there for the president.
Describe her in three words.
Sarah: Stylish, humble, and down-to-earth.
Melania has been promoting the adoption of artificial intelligence, including in schools. Do you think she’s right that AI can unlock the imagination?
Addy: I think with the use of AI, now that it’s been invented and now that it’s being used, we have to adapt to it. There’s no way to get around it. I think it can be super helpful. I think it can make processes quicker. But I do agree that if it’s overused, then obviously there’s an issue that’s a little scary.
Do you guys use AI?
Sarah: I do, yeah
Addy: I’m in college right now, of course I use AI. What college student doesn’t use AI? Literally that’s how I’m getting most of my assignments done because it’s to the point, it’s quick. It’s not like I’m cheating with it, but it’s more so like I’m using it to actually help me learn and create ways for me to learn. Right now it’s created an outline for me to write an essay, which is helpful.
Immigration obviously is a big issue in the news right now. And Melania was born in Slovenia. What do you think the media is getting right or wrong about President Trump’s attitude towards the issue?
They seem to think that he hates immigrants, that he wants them all gone. But it’s very obvious that he means the illegals, the ones that are doing harm. And if there were people that came here legally and they came here to work, they came here the right way, he wouldn’t mind. It’s all about following the protocol, following the rules. [Editors: Even before the 2026 crackdown, individuals with no criminal convictions reportedly made up two-thirds of the people being deported through the first half of last year].
Names: Donna Hylton
Where do you feel Melania’s had the biggest impact as a First Lady?
Well, when I say she carries herself well, I don’t mean physical, although she does that too. But she has a presence, considering her husband is quite a show horse, right? Intelligent, speaks seven foreign languages. I don’t know about how many people in this country can do that. And she’s got initiatives that she’s running herself. She’s not just holding teas in the White House, she’s actually going to be out there in the community and helping children.
Describe her in three words.
I was going to say tall, dark, and handsome. Well, smart, beautiful, and warm.
As a mother I relate to her because of her business as not only First Lady, but also raising her son in the White House. You know how difficult it is when you have teenagers. They have a mind of their own and they’re going to do what they want. No matter what Mom says or Dad, and your dad’s the president of the United States!
This might be a hot button topic, but immigration is obviously in the news right now, and Mrs. Trump is born in Slovenia. What do you think the media is getting right or wrong about the Trumps’ attitude towards immigration?
My family’s Armenian, we all came legally. But we don’t support criminals. And if they’re criminals, either native Americans or from a foreign country and came here illegally, we got to get them out. Because it’s not only dangerous, but they broke the law getting here.
And just to clarify, did you say including native Americans or not including native Americans?
When I say native Americans, that’s all of us born here. It’s not just Indians, okay? I’m native. I’m born in California. So that’s what native Americans really mean.
Name: Joey Chavez
Melania has been promoting the adoption of artificial intelligence, including in schools. Do you think she’s right that AI can, in her words, unlock the imagination?
I generally do. You see, artificial intelligence is revolutionizing all industries, supply chain, agriculture here in the Central Valley. It’s very resource-intensive, but I can see the return being tenfold, depending on how well we educate our children on prompt engineering and really taking advantage of information systems.
Do you use AI yourself?
I do use AI strategically, whether it be for my own self-enrichment—I’m trying to learn a couple of languages like Punjabi, Spanish, and Italian—or whether it be for cooking. I enjoy cooking in my personal life. It’s a supplement to my work.
Immigration has been in the news lately. Considering that Mrs. Trump is from Slovenia, what do you think the media has gotten right or wrong about Trump’s attitude towards immigration?
That’s a fantastic question. I think the media has correctly identified that Trump wants to make this a priority because he’s feeling the pressure from his base.
We’re seeing the collapse of software engineering as an industry because we have a plethora, and possibly an excess, of H-1B visa recipients taking jobs in Silicon Valley. So Trump understands at this very point that immigration and the full boat that is our country, it’s handling a lot of weight, and he needs to prioritize American interests in our economy by putting Americans first.
What I think the media could be more generous to Trump on, what I think they got incorrect, is the way that the administration has been targeting different populations. In Minneapolis, we’ve had various demonstrations and two tragic assassinations because the left and the opponents of the administration want to put Americans in the middle of the crossfire to oppose any sort of immigration standard being enforced.
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