In the 2000s, she appeared in an advertisement for Aflac insurance in which she and the Aflac mascot, a duck, voiced at the time by comedian Gilbert Gottfried, exchange personalities via a Frankenstein-like mad experiment.[citation needed]
Marriage to Donald Trump
Melania and Donald Trump at the Oscar de la Renta Fashion Show in New York City, 2006
After becoming engaged in 2004, Donald and Melania were married on January 22, 2005, at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, followed by a reception in the ballroom at Donald's Mar-a-Lago estate.[32]
The event was attended by celebrities such as Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, Rudy Giuliani, Heidi Klum, Star Jones, P. Diddy, Shaquille O'Neal, Barbara Walters, Conrad Black, Regis Philbin, Simon Cowell, Kelly Ripa, then-Senator Hillary Clinton, and former president Bill Clinton.[32][33] At the reception, Billy Joel serenaded the crowd with "Just the Way You Are" and supplied new lyrics about Trump to the tune of "The Lady Is a Tramp".[32]
The Trumps' wedding ceremony and reception were widely covered by the media.[29] Trump wore a $200,000 dress made by John Galliano of the house of Christian Dior.[32]
In March 2006, Melania gave birth to a son named Barron William Trump. Donald suggested his first name and Melania his middle name.[34] As an infant, Barron reportedly occupied his own floor in the Trumps' apartment in Trump Tower in Manhattan, but often slept in a crib in his parents' bedroom.[34] He plays golf with his father and is reported to be fluent in Slovene.[35] He is said to like wearing a suit and tie, and Melania's nickname for him is "Mini-Donald".[5]
Role in 2016 U.S. presidential election
Main article: Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
Trump supporting the Donald Trump presidential campaign
An anti-Donald Trump PAC in March 2016 published an attack ad featuring a nude photo of Trump that was published in 2000 as part of a British GQ magazine photoshoot.[37] The photograph shows her handcuffed to a briefcase, lying on a fur blanket aboard Donald Trump's private jet.[2][25][38]
In July 2016, Melania Trump's official website was redirected to Trump.com. On Twitter, she stated that her site was outdated and did not "accurately reflect [her] current business and professional interests."[39] This change came after it was widely noted by the media that the website had falsely claimed for more than 10 years that she had a degree in architecture and design from the University of Ljubljana.[40][41][42][43][44] Her biography in the 2016 Republican National Convention official program also incorrectly stated that she had obtained a degree in Slovenia.[14][45]
"Comparing Melania Trump's Speech in 2016 with Michelle Obama's in 2008"
On September 1, 2016, her attorneys filed defamation lawsuits against British tabloid the Daily Mail and Webster Tarpley, a Maryland political blogger. Both had published allegations from other sources that she worked as an escort for a gentlemen's club in Italy in the 1990s. Tarpley published a retraction and an apology on August 22. The Daily Mail published a retraction and apology after the suit was filed.[51][52]
