Official White House portrait shows her in a suit, hands on the desk, staring straight at the camera
First Lady Melania Trump made a return to an official White House event after a month away.
On the 23rd (local time), CNN reported that Melania attended a dinner and reception the night before where President Trump had invited governors from across the country.
The couple walked in side by side, smiling and holding hands, coordinated in black tuxedos and white shirts. The president wore a bow tie; Melania left the top two buttons of her shirt undone and skipped a tie.
At the event, President Trump praised his wife's work preparing it. Melania did not make any public remarks.
An official White House photo taken on the 21st of last month — released six days later — already showed Melania in business attire. In the black-and-white portrait, she wore a dark suit over a white shirt and looked straight ahead with both hands on a desk.
The BBC quoted experts who said the styling seemed designed to project more authority.
Melania had appeared at White House events for several days following President Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, but after joining him on inspection trips to natural disaster sites in North Carolina and California on the 24th, she largely stayed away from White House events for the next month.
CNN, citing people close to the couple, reported that Melania has been spending most of her time between New York — where their son Barron is in college — and the couple’s home in Florida, and that she plans to take on hostess duties at major White House events going forward.
The White House press secretary did not provide a detailed comment on Melania's movements.
By Se-young Parkn
