She may be about to become one of the most powerful women in the world, but Melania Trump says being a mum comes first.
The future First Lady and her 10-year-old son Barron won’t be following Donald Trump into the White House after his January inauguration because their son’s schooling takes priority, says a report.
The New York Post says the president-elect’s 46-year-old wife and Barron are staying put at the family’s glitzy Trump Tower penthouse so that Barron can continue attending his Upper West Side private school.
“Melania is extremely close to Barron, and they have become closer during the campaign,” says a source close to Trump’s transition team.
“The campaign has been difficult for Barron, and she is really hoping to keep disruption to a minimum.”
Another insider says Melania Trump will travel to the White House as needed, but that her main focus is on Barron.
“Melania is very supportive of her husband and is fully on board of doing everything that’s needed as first lady,” adds the second source familiar with the Trump transition.
That insider also believes there is a possibility that Melania and Barron may move to Washington DC at the end of the school year, although there are no plans in place.
“She is really devoted to Barron,” says the source close to the family, adding that Melania has not relied on nannies to raise the child and is frequently seen picking the fourth-grader up from his prep school, where tuition is north of US$40,000.
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) July 23, 2016
The decision to remain in their Manhattan home will increase the security presence around Trump Tower — an effort that will involve both Secret Service and the NYPD, an expert familiar with high-level security tells The Post.
“That building is going to become the White House of New York,” says Jim Reese, a former Delta Force commander and president of TigerSwan, a global security company based in North Carolina.
