At Inauguration, Melania and Barron Trump Greet a Limelight They Once Avoided

Politics|At Inauguration, Melania and Barron Trump Greet a Limelight They Once Avoided

During her husband’s first presidential inauguration, in January 2017, Melania Trump was a newcomer to Washington, a first lady who draped herself in baby-blue cashmere to evoke memories of Jacqueline Kennedy and whose tight smile, at moments, seemed to dissolve into a scowl.

The years have evidently changed her.

Throughout her husband’s first term, Mrs. Trump would go on to keep her physical and emotional distance from the capital, choosing to focus on raising her son, Barron, and retreat from the public eye.

While other family members, like Ivanka Trump, have seemingly enjoyed spending years smiling widely for the cameras and posting their travels (and high-status friends) on social media, Mrs. Trump and her son remained closed off. But on Monday, the returning first lady and the son she had once shielded from the public eye used Monday’s inauguration to reintroduce themselves.

One of the biggest changes occurred before they set foot in the capital. Along with the rest of the family, Mrs. Trump has signaled that she will be more unapologetic about the ethical concerns that followed her family through President Trump’s first term. The woman who once abandoned jewelry and skin care lines unveiled her own cryptocurrency, $MELANIA, hours before Mr. Trump’s swearing in. So far, both Trumps have shrugged off complaints.