Well, all right — that’s a slight exaggeration. There’s still Mar-a-Lago, an equally gaudy penthouse in New York, and who-knows-what-other residences she may share with that guy she married all those years ago when she was a young emigre in search of U.S. citizenship.

But First Lady of the United States Melania Trump is, officially and quite literally, without office space for herself and her staff of five. The East Wing of the White House — a portion of it first used as a base of operations by Eleanor Roosevelt, and later officially designated as the Office of the First Lady by Rossalyn Carter — has been demolished.

In most marriages, taking away the wife’s private domain — be it an office, a sewing room, or the kitchen — would be grounds for divorce. But a First Lady doesn’t just pack a bag and walk out the front door . . . or, better yet, throw hubby’s clothes out the window and change the locks. And if hubby also happens to be an all-powerful megalomaniac and pathologically vindictive . . . well, you can see her problem.

Thus far, Mrs. Trump has remained silent on this startling new development. Some have said it’s because — as also evidenced by her recent absences from the public eye — she doesn’t really care what her husband does, or how this particular action will affect future U.S. First Ladies. But I’m not so sure about that.

From 1937 to 1954, there was a radio program eponymously called “The Shadow,” about a crime-fighting vigilante whose identity was never revealed. The opening line of each program — initiated by the great Orson Welles — was this:

“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!”

. . . followed by a rather ominous, deep-throated laugh.

In the present-day White House, Melania Trump would be the most likely person to know the answer to that question . . . and many others. And maybe it’s not that she doesn’t care. Maybe she’s just smart enough to keep her mouth shut.

Or both.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/24/25