Trump publicly teases his wife: what does this say about their relationship?
U.S. President Donald Trump is unlikely to be named “Man of the Year,” as he has been actively campaigning for Republicans in the run-up to the midterm elections and frequently makes jokes about his wife.
Last week, during two speeches, Trump joked about First Lady Melania Trump. In particular, he said that his wife doesn’t like two of his signature antics: skits about transgender athletes and his peculiar, jerky dance to the song “YMCA.”
Trump’s Jokes
At a rally in Wasilla, Alaska, Trump mentioned that his wife thinks he should stop joking about transgender athletes. The president riled up the crowd, urging those present to support him in performing a skit that she “hates” but that he considers “pretty cool.” When the audience erupted in applause, Trump did it again.
The next day, during a rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, Trump once again began joking about a transgender weightlifter, and then said, “My wife is going crazy because of me.”
According to him, Melania Trump “hates” these antics. He added: “She says, ‘You’re the President of the United States; you shouldn’t be doing that.’”
Despite this, he immediately began mimicking the athlete, lifting the barbell overhead with a loud grunt.
The U.S. president also said that the First Lady finds his signature “YMCA” dance somewhat inappropriate for his office. “She says, ‘You should just walk off the stage with a little wave,’” Trump noted.
After calling “YMCA” the “gay national anthem” and claiming that the song helped him win “the highest level of support from gay people of any Republican in history,” he returned to mocking his wife.
“She says, ‘Don’t dance when you walk off the stage, honey,’” Trump continued. “I love you very much, but please don’t do that.”
Expert Opinions
If there’s a “doghouse” in the White House (a place where guilty men are sent), then Trump seems to have ended up right there—at least that’s what family therapists believe.
“Like everything else Trump does, his antics at the rally are, of course, all about him, and Melania, in this situation, serves as a ‘scapegoat,’” notes Amy Begel, a therapist at the New York Medical School.
According to her, Trump’s favorite way of exercising power is often accompanied by displays of cruelty and humiliation. In any relationship—not just within the Trump family—setting up your partner just to make the audience laugh amounts to a betrayal of trust.
“It’s playing with fire. As with Trump himself, it’s a display of power, an attempt to assert oneself at the expense of another, which borders on humiliation,” the expert added.
Greg Kaison, a psychologist from Los Angeles, California, agrees. He notes that although Trump tries to present this as a joke or lighthearted banter with the audience, his remarks about Melania convey “hostile humor” and mockery, which can be perceived as contempt.
“He not only ignores the advice she gave him face-to-face, but also brings it out into the open, encouraging the audience to laugh at it,” says Kaison.
The mere fact of ignoring a partner’s advice is not in itself disrespectful, but mocking it in front of an audience can certainly indicate a dismissive attitude, Kaison explained.
The Huff Post reports on this.
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