Melania Trump Says She'll Be an 'Independent' First Lady and Tell Donald When She Disagrees: 'Standing on My Own 2 Feet'

Melania Trump says she's "standing on my own two feet" as she prepares to play the role of president's wife for four more years.

The former first lady — who will be returning to the White House on Jan. 20 alongside her husband, President-elect Donald Trump — was asked by Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt if she felt "different" about the role now compared to when Donald first took office in 2017.

"I feel I was always me the first time as well, I just feel that people didn’t accept me, maybe. They didn’t understand me the way maybe they do now," Melania, 54, said in the interview, which aired on Fox & Friends on Monday, Jan. 13. "I didn’t have much support."

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Melania, who also discussed her upcoming Amazon documentary, added, "Maybe some people, they see me as just the wife of the president."

"But I’m standing on my own two feet, independent," she asserted. "I have my own thoughts, I have my own yes and no. I don’t always agree what my husband is saying or doing, and that’s OK."

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The soon-to-be first lady also said that she is comfortable telling her husband when she disagrees with him, adding that she gives him advice based on her perspective.

"Sometimes he listens, sometimes he doesn’t," she said. "And that’s okay."

Related: Melania Trump Vows to Expand Her Failed 'Be Best' Initiative in Second Term, Saying 'I Didn't Have Much Support' Before

Just weeks after Donald secured the presidency in the November 2024 election, and as he was named Time's 2024 Person of the Year, the president-elect told the magazine that Melania will be "active when she needs to be" during his second term.

As he explained at the time, Melania — whom he felt "became very active towards the end" of his first term — will be staying in the White House.

"She's very beloved by the people, Melania," the president-elect said of his wife of nearly 20 years. "And they like the fact that she's not out there in your face all the time for many reasons. Many political people have that, you know. But she's, she's really, they really like her. They really love her. Actually, in many ways, when I make speeches, we love our first lady. They have signs, 'We love our first lady.' "

"No, she'll be — she'll be active, when she needs to be, when she needs to be."

Related: Melania Trump Says Donald Trump 'Knew My Position and My Beliefs' on Abortion 'Since the Day We Met'

During her Monday interview with Fox & Friends, Melania was asked where she plans to spend most of her time during the next four years. The incoming first lady — who has a college-aged son in New York City and a mansion in Palm Beach, Fla. — said that she'll be "in the White House."

"And when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I'll be in Palm Beach. But my first priority is to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife," she said. "And once we are in on Jan. 20, you serve the country."

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Donald will be sworn in on Monday, Jan. 20, at the U.S. Capitol, with inauguration events set to take place in Washington, D.C., through the weekend leading up to the ceremony.

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