Althouse: No one knows the mind of Melania.

August 29, 2020

No one knows the mind of Melania.

This was so weird. #RNC2020 pic.twitter.com/YHReTl0bfT
— Dana Goldberg (@DGComedy) August 28, 2020

80 comments:

DINKY DAU 45 said...: FAKE PEOPLE THE WHOLE GROUP OF THEM "OJAYS" SAID IT BEST ..They smile in your face....the backstabbers.... :(; 8/29/20, 9:17 AM
JAORE said...: No opinion too low. No subject too trivial. Mind reading fully endorsed.

Just so long as it proves Orange Man Bad.; 8/29/20, 9:22 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: Are we going to Nick Sandman Melania now?

Meanwhile...

@BrandonStraka
· Aug 27
"I haven’t endured an anti-gay attack like this in probably 10 years. #BlackLivesMatter
activists physically assault me & Mike Harlow on our way into our hotel, calling us faggots & threatening us. The one girl comes back & knocks my friend’s phone out of her hand."
#BLM= violence; 8/29/20, 9:29 AM
tim maguire said...: She looks tired. She'll put on a happy face when talking to someone but doesn't have the energy to keep it up between people.; 8/29/20, 9:29 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: If I had to attempt a mind read - I bet she is over it and wishes she could get the fuck out DC.

Do you blame her?; 8/29/20, 9:30 AM
hombre said...: Maybe she’s tired or stressed. Although God knows there is no reason for any member of this family to feel stressed, is there? Why is this video important?

My Portlandian son, unbidden, offered up his reason for opposing Trump. Trump’s tweets demonstrate that he is “a divisive billionaire bully. That’s it! Maybe we should dislike Melania because she is a frowning billionaire’s wife.

I am so embarrassed by the puerility of these TDS people, particularly my son.; 8/29/20, 9:31 AM
R C Belaire said...: Bottom of the barrel. The Left must be packing up, ready to give it up.; 8/29/20, 9:33 AM
Clues? said...: Dana projecting again. The usual; 8/29/20, 9:34 AM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Weird?? Weird your ass--

...I dont talk about my ass!!

FLOTUS quickly resumes official composure after momentary familial ease; 8/29/20, 9:36 AM
Kai Akker said...: A riveting 0:03.; 8/29/20, 9:38 AM
Virgil Hilts said...: Its a trick of the light, I think. Her eyeballs are where they should be, but some weird lighting effect/shadow makes it looks like they are dropped and frenzied.; 8/29/20, 9:38 AM
Karen said...: Ever stood in a receiving line where you smile for long periods of time? I have. Every once in awhile you have to stretch your facial muscles in between people. If you go frame by frame with anyone, you’ll catch odd micro expressions.; 8/29/20, 9:39 AM
wendybar said...: This is ALL they have....They can't deny Trump gets things done, whilst Joe has been in the game for 47 years, and gets NOTHING done, and now has some type of mental delusion, so he has to hide away in the basement. Get real.; 8/29/20, 9:42 AM
Ice Nine said...: Weird? That's a fairly standard fleeting facial take when confronting and absorbing the enormity of something unusual. Seen it. Done it. BFD.; 8/29/20, 9:43 AM
Matt Sablan said...: What expression was she making BEFORE she gave a polite greeting to whoever walked by? My guess is she was making something closer to the face at the end than the start, was polite to whoever that was, then returned to her status quo.; 8/29/20, 9:51 AM
Lucien said...: Someone had just told her “don’t worry, only two hours left tonight”.; 8/29/20, 9:54 AM
LilyBart said...: Maybe she was just re-adjusting her face to her favorite (in pictures) expression. She's a model and knows how she looks best. Its probably that simple.; 8/29/20, 9:55 AM
BamaBadgOR said...: Was that Ivanka walking by?; 8/29/20, 9:55 AM
Matt said...: Oh, wow. A lefty Jew's 'hot take'. How unique and unexpected.; 8/29/20, 9:55 AM
Wince said...: I got a "What was with her?" vibe. "So cold, I tried to be nice... [small eye-pop, smaller head shake] Whatever."

Against what they're trying to imply: Melania's initial smile wasn't dishonest. In that reception line setting, it is simply communicating a greeting. Meanwhile, her reaction was honest.

Women who keep their poise while quietly revealing their inner struggles with doing so is attractive to men. It emphasizes their strengths and vulnerabilities, which is humanizing.

So, instead not knowing the mind Melania, I felt like I got a look, and I liked it.

All of which would have been concealed by a mask by the way.; 8/29/20, 9:56 AM
Conservative ideals said...: It’s quite frustrating to have these micro-videos that lack context. You can edit a video and make it appear the exact opposite of what was actually improving. Please include links to more substantial videos when you post micro-videos so that it’s easier to see what the overall context of the glance is. The most effective method I’ve seen is posting the micro video that is the subject of comment, as well as the larger video with a “the clip occurs at the 2:04 mark”

A micro-video by itself means nothing.; 8/29/20, 10:03 AM
Amadeus 48 said...: She was greeting Ivanka. The catty meme of the day is that Melania hates/fears/disrespects//is jealous of Ivanka.

No word on who the mirror declares to be the fairest of them all, although CNN is all over it, with Brian Stelter claiming that even in Trumpworld, it is Michelle O, with Hillary a close second. Anderson Cooper says he is not in a position to judge, but when thousands of mostly peaceful protesters are liberating purses from Gucci that should mean something.; 8/29/20, 10:03 AM
Joe Smith said...: It looks like one those 'deep breath, focus, you can do it' moments.

The woman is 50 years old and still hotter than the sun.

But Michelle got all the magazine covers because she was sooooo beautiful : ); 8/29/20, 10:16 AM
Temujin said...: It was pretty weird.; 8/29/20, 10:16 AM
rcocean said...: Mind reading Melania. She's evil, she's stupid, she hates her husband. She's a prostitute, she has bade taste, and she ruined the Rose Garden. She has a thick accent, she's a foreigner, she's a space alien. And worst of all...

She might be a Republican.; 8/29/20, 10:22 AM
Readering said...: Folks, you don't have to comment.; 8/29/20, 10:27 AM
effinayright said...: Karen said...
Ever stood in a receiving line where you smile for long periods of time? I have. Every once in awhile you have to stretch your facial muscles in between people. If you go frame by frame with anyone, you’ll catch odd micro expressions.

******
Best "receiving line" story I know goes like this:

FDR (I think it was) was greeting people in such a line. He bet someone that no one listened to what he said them.

So he began saying, "I shot my grandmother today" to each person who shook his hand.

No one reacted--until someone replied, "Well, she certainly had it coming."; 8/29/20, 10:31 AM
Marcus Carman said...: I think it's pretty obvious that she was being cordial as Ivanka passed, then returned to her steely learned "model" look. It's not the first example of this that's out there.; 8/29/20, 10:31 AM
traditionalguy said...: Melania is the best. Her intelligence matches DJT’s intelligence , and her 100% female strength keeps him grounded.

FTR her clothes often serve as a signal the rest of the Q team. How did you like her “green castle” dress? And then there was the Italian Opera settingThe Godfather III theme for the day. So Melania and Barron seem to be insiders on the ongoing WWWIII of good v. Evil erupting with Fifth Column DC traitors.That should be enough to earn her a medal, not media smears.; 8/29/20, 10:36 AM
traditionalguy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/29/20, 10:38 AM
Big Mike said...: Professional politicians and their spouses teach themselves how to plaster a fake smile on their resting faces. Melania doesn’t do that. Good for her.; 8/29/20, 10:40 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: How dare she let the edges of her mouth droop - for even a split second.

Impeach!; 8/29/20, 10:41 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: OT:

Kenosha police find helmets, gas masks, more in out-of-state vehicles; arrest 9

Why are Seattle based leftwing arsonist-Nazis showing up in Kenosha?

Who or what is paying for these creeps to move around?; 8/29/20, 10:50 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Melania suddenly remembered where she knows that lady from.; 8/29/20, 10:53 AM
Birches said...: What LilyBart said. She was readjusting to her Blue Steel face and there was a moment of grimace in there.

Who knows what it was about, but it's funny even if you don't hate Trump.; 8/29/20, 10:54 AM
William said...: Transient gas pains?; 8/29/20, 10:54 AM
Yancey Ward said...: You ever tried smiling for 60 minutes straight, Dana?; 8/29/20, 10:55 AM
Skeptical Voter said...: Let's assume the worst (always a good assumption when the MSM is talking about Trump). Melania smiled at someone she loatted--and then turned her head and her face showed what she really thought. Hey it's life among the politicians along the Potomac. Forget it Jake, it's the Swamp.

Or as Slow Joe Biden might say, It's no big effin' deal.; 8/29/20, 11:01 AM
Rosalyn C. said...: IMO Melania's a nice person who is making an effort to be gracious to strangers and to the public but she is also a very self contained person. IOW she doesn't lose herself in all this, after the gesture she checks in with her core. On a second view of the video I didn't find her facial expression weird at all.

President Trump does the same all the time. When he poses for photos with people he puts on a very happy grin and then after the picture is taken he goes back to his normal expression. He is also in touch with his core. The difference is she's been a fashion model, they are expected to be feminine and fierce at the same time. It's like the Ginger Rogers's line, she did the same dance as Fred Astaire except she had to do it backwards and in heels.

I don't know why people want to attack Melania Trump. Typical that a woman on the left is the mysogynist. Sad.; 8/29/20, 11:06 AM
Christy said...: Her feet hurt, but she can get it together to give someone a smile.; 8/29/20, 11:12 AM
n.n said...: #BLM= violence

Some, Select Black Lives Matter is a Pro-Choice sect, a liberal institution, a corporation in the social industrial diversity racket.; 8/29/20, 11:16 AM
madAsHell said...: That was weird. It looks like she has a working brain between her ears.; 8/29/20, 11:16 AM
Mark said...: Here's the mind of Michelle Obama --

Michelle Obama: 'White people don't even see me' when I'm in public

“What the White community doesn’t understand about being a person of color in this nation is that there are daily slights, in our workplaces where people talk over you, or people don’t even see you,” she said on “The Michelle Obama Podcast” on Spotify.

Mrs. Obama recalled an instance when she was still first lady and she and her daughters, Sasha and Malia, and Ms. Pemberton-Heard went out for ice cream after a soccer game. . . .

“She didn’t know it was me,” she continued. “All she saw was a Black person, or a group of Black people, or maybe she didn’t even see that, because we were that invisible. I can tell you a number of stories like that, when I’ve been completely incognito, during the eight years in the White House, walking the dogs on the canal. People will come up and pet my dogs, but will not look me in the eye. They don’t know it’s me.

“What White folks don’t understand is like, that is so telling of how White America views people who are not like them,” she added. “We don’t exist. And when we do exist, we exist as a threat. And that’s exhausting.”

Yes, talk about exhausting.; 8/29/20, 11:21 AM
Achilles said...: I think we should take 3 seconds out of everyone's day at random and put it on blast.

Then project our worst guess onto what they were thinking.

That would be the best way to discuss politics.; 8/29/20, 11:26 AM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: But Michelle got all the magazine covers because she was sooooo beautiful

NEWS
Michelle Obama says ‘white America’ acts like black women don’t exist
By Yaron Steinbuch

August 28, 2020 | 8:55am

“When I’ve been completely incognito, during the eight years in the White House, walking the dogs on the canal, people will come up and pet my dogs, but will not look me in the eye. They don’t know it’s me,” the former first lady said in “The Michelle Obama Podcast.”

“What white folks don’t understand, it’s like that is so telling of how white America views people who are not like them. You know, we don’t exist. And when we do exist, we exist as a threat. And that, that’s exhausting,” Obama continued."

I miss them :(; 8/29/20, 11:34 AM
Kate said...: Clicked through to this Dana person's twitter feed. I normally block ppl like her. It's not that she's hard Left, it's that her posts show no sign of the ability to reason.; 8/29/20, 11:42 AM
Ralph L said...: Every once in awhile you have to stretch your facial muscles in between people.

It's probably even worse after surgery and/or botox.; 8/29/20, 11:45 AM
Michael K said...: “When I’ve been completely incognito, during the eight years in the White House, walking the dogs on the canal, people will come up and pet my dogs, but will not look me in the eye. They don’t know it’s me,” the former first lady said in “The Michelle Obama Podcast.”

We know this is a lie as she would never be allowed out like this without Secret Service.; 8/29/20, 11:49 AM
rcocean said...: Hello,

I just wanted to comment to say you don't have to comment.

Thank You.

PS - Will comment in 1 hour to repeat comment that you don't have to comment.; 8/29/20, 11:53 AM
rcocean said...: Michelle is a big strong black Lady. People are probably scared of her. I can't imagine anyone messing with her, even when she's in-cog-nito.; 8/29/20, 11:55 AM
wild chicken said...: I like Melania but she isn't a great political wife.

That takes a certain character you don't see much anymore. Pat Nixon, Jackie, Lady Bird, Barbara Bush seemed to get that it was a partnership and put a lot of energy into it. It's a huge commitment.

It's like being the Queen.; 8/29/20, 11:55 AM
LordSomber said...: I wonder if Emmanuel Goldstein happened to have a wife?; 8/29/20, 12:02 PM
nono said...: Watch president Trump's face he is doing the same. You can only see the left side but watch it.; 8/29/20, 12:10 PM
Nichevo said...: wild chicken said...
I like Melania but she isn't a great political wife.

That takes a certain character you don't see much anymore. Pat Nixon, Jackie, Lady Bird, Barbara Bush seemed to get that it was a partnership and put a lot of energy into it. It's a huge commitment.

It's like being the Queen.

8/29/20, 11:55 AM

Curious, if not silly, if not stupid thing to say. She does fine. And all those other women had decades to learn whatever skills or traits you imagine Melania to be missing. Also they lived before an age of constant unblinking video surveillance. And if Barbara Bush farted, the NYT might, just possibly, let it go.; 8/29/20, 12:18 PM
DEEBEE said...: Well at least she does not feel ignored like Moochelle; 8/29/20, 12:22 PM
Joe Smith said...: "She was readjusting to her Blue Steel face..."

Clearly that was Magnum.; 8/29/20, 12:30 PM
J.R. Marr said...: I don't know... does Melania wear contacts? I don't see the big deal.; 8/29/20, 12:58 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The green color was amazing. Has anyone every worn that color before — that precise color? It was freaky. And I mean that in a good way. It ruled.; 8/29/20, 1:00 PM
Ann Althouse said...: You know, the First Ladies have all been pretty great — at least going back to Jackie.; 8/29/20, 1:02 PM
Ann Althouse said...: What do they need to do? Just be there, seem vaguely human, put up with cameras without showing the strain, and wear some clothes.; 8/29/20, 1:03 PM
Iman said...: "If the lime green dress is rockin', don't bother knockin'; 8/29/20, 1:04 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Little Triggers... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEXqxGztaEw

Meowwwww; 8/29/20, 1:05 PM
Joe Smith said...: "It's like being the Queen."

Back in the day, certainly during the time of Jackie and Ladybird, wives were still thought of as 'the little woman.'

Now for good or ill, first ladies are expected to have a cause. Melania seems to have great rapport with children, but she doesn't seem to have the need to be the center of attention. Nothing wrong with that...she still has a teenage son to raise.; 8/29/20, 1:09 PM
Jupiter said...: "The woman is 50 years old and still hotter than the sun."

You can say that again. In fact, I'll say that again.

"The woman is 50 years old and still hotter than the sun."; 8/29/20, 1:13 PM
Will Cate said...: Living in a fishbowl, one learns how to turn the smile on-and-off like that, just like a switch.; 8/29/20, 1:15 PM
Ralph L said...: Just be there

And greet hundreds of strangers, bores, and nitwits, and make them feel welcome and valued.; 8/29/20, 1:32 PM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: This is nothing! Bette Midler went apeshit on Twitter when Melania gave her speech at the RNC Convention.; 8/29/20, 1:47 PM
Rory said...: "the First Ladies have all been pretty great — at least going back to Jackie."

Hillary Clinton's "vast right-wing conspiracy" statement is the most damaging political statement in at least 25 years. It freed half the country from extending any presumption of good faith to the opposite side, and condemned feminism to decades of naked hypocrisy.; 8/29/20, 1:53 PM
Narayanan said...: Michael K said...
“When I’ve been completely incognito, during the eight years in the White House, walking the dogs on the canal, people will come up and pet my dogs, but will not look me in the eye. They don’t know it’s me,” the former first lady said in “The Michelle Obama Podcast.”
------------============
let us see - we have a group of life forms in kinetic action on the canal - and people managed to differentiate canids from homo-erectus and valued the canids more by petting.

that is discernment of a sort. Much appreciated.; 8/29/20, 2:02 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: My wife made all kinds of faces unconsciously in our wedding video. It happens. We get a good laugh about it whenever we watch it. It's even funnier when sped up.; 8/29/20, 2:09 PM
Phil 314 said...: Trying to read the tea leaves, the lime green tea leaves.; 8/29/20, 2:47 PM
Dude1394 said...: Anyone taking a 3 second clip is a propagandist.; 8/29/20, 3:05 PM
MadTownGuy said...: BleachBit-and-Hammers said...
"OT:

Kenosha police find helmets, gas masks, more in out-of-state vehicles; arrest 9

Why are Seattle based leftwing arsonist-Nazis showing up in Kenosha?

Who or what is paying for these creeps to move around?"

There must be some kind of audit trail. The post by Second City Cop about limos picking up groups of people from Chicago sounds similar. He never mentions the name of the limo company but it's apparent he knows it as he called Great Lakes Naval to check their story.

Somebody, somewhere, knows something. I can only hope it's the good guys.; 8/29/20, 4:08 PM
Paul Doty said...: Now, do Michelle.; 8/29/20, 4:40 PM
Rory said...: "...went out for ice cream after a soccer game. . . ."

This was her reaction: "So I stepped up and I said, ‘Excuse me? You don’t see us four people standing right here, you just jumped in line?"

My reaction, after determining the person isn't crazy or pathetic, has been, "Oh, I haven't ordered yet" or "I think I'm next." Or something that would imply that I just thought they had made a mistake. And in my 60 years I don't think that's ever gotten anything but a flustered apology.; 8/29/20, 5:10 PM
Jupiter said...: "When I’ve been completely incognito, during the eight years in the White House, walking the dogs on the canal, people will come up and pet my dogs, but will not look me in the eye. They don’t know it’s me."

Is that even conceivable? Walk up to a strange woman walking her dogs, and pet them, without ever acknowledging her? A strange Negro woman, in Washington DC? At least she didn't claim they asked to touch her hair.; 8/29/20, 5:59 PM
tim in vermont said...: This kind of shit is why I deleted my Twitter account. Do it. You will be happier. It’s a mind virus, Insty is right.; 8/29/20, 9:06 PM
Rory said...: "Is that even conceivable? Walk up to a strange woman walking her dogs, and pet them, without ever acknowledging her?"

I took it to mean specifically that they didn't look her in the eye. I've walked my dog by the canal and tons of other places, met literally thousands of people, and can only think of two who didn't acknowledge me. They were both small children, one autistic and the other didn't speak English.

It's not unusual not to make a lot of eye contact with dogs around. You're watching your dog to make sure he's okay with the approach and contact, and the other person should be watching that, too.; 8/29/20, 10:06 PM
David Duffy said...: God has blessed Melania Trump with great beauty.; 8/30/20, 12:09 AM
loudogblog said...: I hate to say this, but she looks like an android doing a reset.; 8/30/20, 12:18 PM