Melania Trump, the former first lady and wife of ex-President Donald Trump, recently shared insights on her experience during the 2020 George Floyd protests. In a video promoting her memoir Melania on X (formerly Twitter), she described the fear she felt as demonstrators approached the White House.
“The loud knocking on the door sent a jolt through my body,” Melania said. She recalled a Secret Service agent telling her to move for safety, emphasizing that their protection was critical due to the violent protests that had reached Pennsylvania Avenue.
According to The New York Times, on May 29, 2020, the Trump family, including their son Barron, was briefly taken to the White House’s underground bunker as a precaution. This decision followed escalating tensions between protesters and Secret Service agents outside the residence.
Getty Images/Drew Angerer
The protests erupted after the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man, by a Minneapolis police officer on May 26, 2020. Graphic footage showed the officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck, leading to widespread outrage across the nation.
What began as peaceful demonstrations outside the White House turned confrontational, with protesters trying to breach security barriers. Reports indicated minor injuries among Secret Service agents and the use of pepper spray to manage the crowd.
The movement gained remarkable momentum, sparking protests in over 2,000 cities and towns across more than 60 countries, making it one of the largest protest movements in U.S. history. While many protests remained peaceful, some cities faced incidents of violence and looting.
By early June, curfews were imposed in around 200 U.S. cities, with over 96,000 military personnel activated due to the protests, marking one of the largest military operations outside of war in U.S. history.
In the wake of the protests, President Trump praised the Secret Service’s response on social media, while also criticizing Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for allegedly not permitting local police to intervene—claims that were later contested by the Secret Service.
During a speech at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Trump urged for “justice and peace,” but also condemned the violence and attributed it to “Antifa and the radical left,” though without substantiating these claims.
In promoting her memoir, Melania has also touched on controversial topics, including the 2022 FBI raid on their Mar-a-Lago estate regarding classified documents. In a recent social media clip, she expressed her disbelief that her privacy could be compromised by the government, framing it as a cautionary tale for all Americans about safeguarding their rights.
Her promotional strategy often intertwines personal experiences with significant national issues, evidenced by her previous comments on a failed assassination attempt against her husband during a campaign rally.