Despite the myriad ways the mainstream media has dismissed First Lady Melania Trump as someone without substance, we’ve been telling you all along that she is a force not to be taken lightly. Perhaps now the advocacy media will stop messing with Melania. It’s doubtful, but at least they get the message that this is a woman of power and purpose and a whole lot of gray matter to go with that beautiful countenance. [perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”24″]That was all that was needed to push Ms. Ricardel off the proverbial cliff.[/perfectpullquote]
This week, the first lady flexed her muscle and said “enough.” Then out went her adversary. In this case, it happened to be a pet of National Security Advisor John Bolton. Former Deputy National Security Advisor, Mira Ricardel, is a combative presence, to be sure, but she badly miscalculated her political net worth and the East Wing sent her packing.
A Corrosive Presence
Even The New York Times described Ms. Ricardel as someone who “bad-mouthed the defense secretary” and went on to call her a “hatchet woman.” Well, it seems the ax fell the other way this time and bit Bolton’s gal in the derriere. The Guardian dialed into the backstory and revealed the crux of the matter:
“[Mrs.] Trump became disaffected with Ricardel during a trip to Africa in October. The official was reported to have made disparaging remarks about two of the first lady’s staff travelling with her.
According to the New York Times, Ricardel had accused some of Trump’s most trusted aides of inappropriate behavior which the first lady said were false claims.”
So, it seems this whole affair stemmed from the type of petty, personal power plays that are the stock and trade of life inside the Swamp. Politics and power are the currencies in Washington, D.C. and Ms. Ricardel bellied up to the wrong table with a bad hand and lost a high-stakes game. Even Mr. Bolton couldn’t save her this time. And the fall-out is that the media – which has abused Mrs. Trump almost non-stop since the day she rode down that famous escalator in Trump Tower – has a new found respect for the first lady – even willing to quote her supporters:
“She is strong and independent and when she feels something needs to be said, she says it,” one White House official said of the first lady. “Mrs. Trump always does what she feels is right with no regard to what people will think of her — this should be celebrated, not considered any kind of slight towards her husband.”
It sounds like America’s first couple has something in common. To wit, independence and the ability to not give a rat’s rump what others think. It also demonstrates Mrs. Trump’s tenacity and fierce loyalty to her staff. For weeks, she pressed her case against Ricardel, and when the West Wing ignored her, she took matters into her own hands.
Melania Trump
An official statement was approved and released by the East Wing, noting Mrs. Trump’s displeasure earlier this week. It read: “It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House.”
Boom. That was all that was needed to push Ms. Ricardel off the proverbial cliff. That this was done should not have come as a surprise. A long-time Swamp-dweller who served notables such as George W. Bush and Senator Dole, the former Deputy National Security Advisor should have seen this lovely locomotive from Slovenia headed straight for her.
But it seems Ricardel miscalculated. This often happens when one has been in the Swamp so long their hubris reaches a fever pitch, and they act as if they are significant, irreplaceable, and necessary. Here are two lessons and a dose of reality for Ms. Ricardel: Everyone is replaceable in the Swamp, and don’t mess with Melania because this is a woman who knows what she wants and, more often than not, is intelligent enough to find a way to get it.
