Melania Trump auctions some of her famous objects 0:45
(CNN) --
Melania Trump's announcement last week that she was autographing and auctioning off a hat for her personal benefit along with two other items, with an asking price of $250,000, baffles even those who know the former prime minister well. Lady.
She always viewed her role differently from most of her recent predecessors.
She resisted giving public speeches, rarely traveled, did not campaign actively and at times expressed opinions or ideas contrary to those of her husband, former President Donald Trump.
Now her expensive initial offer is a reminder of her equal concern for doing what she wants rather than caring for the American public, and exposes the former first lady to fresh criticism.
Melania Trump returns to public life with a new NFT business
"(Her hat sale) lends credence to the idea that the Trumps were always brazen about making money and that Melania continues to prove she's a Trump through and through," said Kate Andersen Brower, a CNN contributor and author. from "First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies."
The notion that Trump is out for his own personal gain, at the expense of tradition and respect for his former role, was echoed multiple times by the 10 people CNN spoke with for this story, including several former Trump administration officials.
CNN reached out to Melania Trump for comment but did not receive a response.
Trump is auctioning off the wide-brimmed white crepe hat he wore in April 2018 for French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the White House. The hat, created by Trump's personal stylist, designer Hervé Pierre, was made to match the white suit from the Michael Kors collection that he wore for the occasion; the suit was tailor-made, the hat was made to measure.
In addition to the hat, Trump included a watercolor of his face in profile, wearing the hat, which is called "The Head of State Collection" on his website, and a non-fungible token (NFT) of the watercolor, with an animation.
An NFT is a blockchain-authenticated digital collectible that is typically a piece of digital art.
The NFT is the second in which it appears.
The first, a watercolor of her eyes, was put up for sale for a limited time, until December 31.
The current auction, which includes the hat, the watercolor and the NFT, closes on January 25, according to Trump's website.
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Then-First Lady Melania Trump waits with then-President Donald Trump to greet French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron during an Arrival of State ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster )
All the items that Trump is selling can only be purchased through cryptocurrencies.
Her foray into NFTs, mostly a B-list celebrity fad, was questionable in terms of post-first lady business, but it's the sale of an item she wore to an official White House event that that has those who know her scratching their heads.
"What's next? The jacket?" said a former close friend of Trump's, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity so he could speak freely, without reprisal.
The person was referring to the jacket "I really don't care. Do u?"
that Trump used in June 2018 on his trip to Texas to visit facilities that house detained families who crossed into the United States.
"It's not right," said another person who worked high up in the Trump White House.
"It's unseemly. She's trying to build a nest of cash on a piece of paper that the American people elected her husband to."
Another person, a friend of Trump's for many years before and during her tenure in the White House, was hesitant to criticize the former first lady, but this person did question why Trump hasn't clearly said whether most of the money will go to charity. and not directly into your pocket.
"If you're going to do this, sell your personal things, you have to publicly disclose the finances," said this person, who is no longer close to Trump.
A small paragraph on the page of Trump's new website mentions his intention to give at least a portion of the proceeds to charity.
"A portion of the proceeds from this auction will provide children in foster care with access to computer and technology education," the website reads.
CNN has repeatedly asked the Trump office to clarify how much it will allocate, and the exact recipients of said donation, and has never received a response.
"When I was first lady I thought I was out of tune and didn't understand the optics of how some things would go down," says Brower.
"Now I think he knows exactly what things look like and he just doesn't care. There's no way he could have walked into this auction without knowing how unheard of it is to sell state visit items."
Melania Trump sells her eyes in a digital painting 0:56
traditional process
When a first lady puts on a suit, it is often cataloged by a member of her East Wing staff. During Trump's tenure, this job fell to his communications director, and later his chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, who kept copies of Trump's styles for major public occasions with detailed notes from the designers involved, according to a person familiar with staff duties. The breakdown is done, apparently, for posterity: Much of a first lady's wardrobe is kept and often donated to a presidential library or other museum.
"Many of these items have particular historical significance: the dress worn at a ribbon-cutting ceremony or the dress worn at a ribbon-cutting ball, for example," says Mark Updegrove, president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation, the nonprofit organization which supports the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library. "These items are cataloged and kept in the library along with other artifacts from the administration. They can often be loaned to other museums."
The LBJ Library includes a section dedicated to former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, which includes several important artifacts and a good selection of her clothing.
Updegrove says that personal items help to "personify these often distant historical figures, humanizing them and bringing them closer. It's often the closest we'll ever get to seeing them in person."
And a first lady's wardrobe is often the most popular part of a presidential library.
"In 2014, when President and Mrs. Obama were at the LBJ Library for the Civil Rights Summit," recalls Updegrove, "President Obama saw (Lady Bird's) dresses and told me he was under no illusions that many visitors would come to his presidential library to see what happened during his administration. 'They will come to see Michelle's dresses,' he said."
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With the sale of the signed Trump hat, there will be one less item for the public to eventually see in person, if a Donald Trump presidential library ever materializes.
"While she is within her rights to do so, it is inconsistent with what other former first ladies have done, who have donated similar items to the National Archives and presidential libraries in the interest of preserving history and giving back to the American people," Updegrove said.
"Money is money; business is business"
Casting aside tradition and opting for the highest financial gain is a hallmark of Trump.
For decades, Donald Trump and his children, and their wives, have capitalized on the popularity of the Trump name and brand.
This has made Trump and his family revered and very wealthy.
In 2010, Melania Trump began creating her own brand, designing and selling "Melania Trump" jewelry and watches on QVC. Shortly after, she tried a skin care business that never came to fruition. "I don't know why everyone is so surprised by this," a former Trump administration official and current Trump supporter told CNN of his effort. "She's married to Donald Trump. This is what they do. Money is money; business is business."
And yet, the criticism of the former first lady is that she is blurring the line between business and American history for her personal benefit. This "lowers" the position of first lady, Brower said, but noted that many former first ladies have profited from the sale of their memoirs and speeches and now, in the case of Michelle Obama, from books and production deals. "But there is something inherently dull and lazy about what Melania is doing," he added.
Many of Trump's acquaintances who spoke to CNN were unsure if she was facing financial problems or worried about her future security.
At least three people took aim at the idea that Trump is driven by a need to earn an income separate from her husband's, citing her extreme desire for independence, which sometimes spills over into their marriage.
"She wants her own money," said one of Trump's acquaintances who worked with her at the White House.
"This is a quick and easy way to do it."
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However, it may not be as lucrative as Trump would hope, based on previous auctions of first lady memorabilia. "When someone dies, and their estate is sold, that's usually when their items go up in price, because it's emotional and it's fleeting." says John Reznikoff, president and founder of Connecticut-based University Archives. Reznikoff has managed several auctions of former first lady memorabilia, including a Mary Todd Lincoln bible that sold for $90,000 and accessories that belonged to Jacqueline Kennedy, including a pair of white gloves that fetched $2,400.
Reznikoff, who has been valuing historic artifacts for auction for 40 years, noted that the fact that Trump is alive and not as universally beloved as Kennedy, for example, makes the initial bid of a quarter million dollars for his NFT, his signed hat and his watercolor are overrated. "If I were advising you as a customer -- and I'm apolitical -- I would advise you that a better starting price just for the hat would be $5,000," Reznikoff said. Reznikoff thinks the "I really don't care" jacket, and perhaps also the headgear Trump wore in Africa that made headlines, could fetch higher figures. But he added that even those wouldn't come close to $250,000.
Kennedy's estate came up for auction at Sotheby's in 1996, two years after his death, and the sale of his personal belongings brought his family millions of dollars, with most items well above their initial estimates.
Reznikoff said Kennedy's decades-long popularity and status as a fashion icon, as well as the wide array of historical and mundane personal items, were the ideal recipe for a multimillion-dollar haul.
"In my experience in this business, living people who are famous, unless they're broke, generally don't auction off their household items," he said.
The impetus for Trump's decision to auction off a personal garment may never be known.
"She's secretive, she's never going to say what it's about," said the former administration official who worked with the first lady for several years.
"And she has never, ever cared what anyone thinks of her, so all this criticism means nothing."
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