Melania Trump also made history election night, becoming the second presidential spouse to serve two non-consecutive terms as first lady. She was already the second first lady born outside the United States. While President-elect Donald Trump works to put together the senior members of his administration, Mrs. Trump is doing the same for the East Wing with great intentionality.  

She told ‘Fox & Friends,’ ‘I have much more experience, much more knowledge. I was in the White House before. So when you go in, you know exactly what to expect. You know what kind of people you need to get.’ As stated in her best-selling memoir, ‘Melania,’ she has a ‘strong sense of duty to use [her] platform as First Lady for good.’ Her recent interviews all signal a secure, comfortable, and deliberate first lady who knows what she wants to achieve and understands the significance of legacy, with the advantage of having served four years before.  

Our incoming first lady is notably demure and mindful of the importance of her role despite the lack of positive media attention she received compared to many of her recent predecessors. Her bold support of children through her BE BEST initiative took her to dozens of events all over the U.S. and abroad, including several African countries, and a trip to the southern border to see the impact our immigration system has on children and families firsthand.  

She often used the hashtag #powerofthefirstlady to highlight important causes like the negative impact of opioids, which continues to be a major crisis today. Mrs. Trump has made it clear that focusing on the current and future needs of America’s children will be at the center of her second-term platform.  

Mrs. Trump proved her mastery of social diplomacy and imagery multiple times during her previous tenure in the White House, including her flawless execution of state visits. She made history by standing with President Trump on stage with the visiting heads of state and inviting their spouses to do the same during arrival ceremonies, something only previously choreographed by the Carter administration that has not happened since.   

Traditionally, presidential spouses are escorted to the side of the stage as the two heads of state address the crowd. This subtle yet meaningful change to a ceremony, which originated during the Kennedy administration, signaled to the world the importance and value placed on spouses and, notably, first ladies. 

While First Lady Melania Trump was not afraid to place her mark on entertaining at the White House, she ensured each event was meaningful and steeped in American history and tradition. Relationships with world leaders foster dialogue, understanding, respect and peace. Therefore, we should anticipate soft diplomacy through entertaining to continue and increase in a second Trump term. A royal state visit for King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain could be one of the first state visits President and Mrs. Trump hold during their second term, as the royals’ first planned visit to the U.S. was canceled due to COVID-19.  

Mrs. Trump will have the honor of serving as America’s hostess for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Like First Lady Betty Ford, who acted as hostess for events commemorating the American Bicentennial, 50 years ago, this significant anniversary of our relatively young nation, will come with much fanfare.  

So many heads of state came to pay tribute to America during the bicentennial, that a tent was erected on the South Lawn to ensure that tours of the White House were not curtailed. It would be a fitting tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, who was honored with a state dinner during the bicentennial, and to our special relationship with England for President and Mrs. Trump to invite King Charles II to attend a state dinner for his first state visit as king during our Semiquincentennial.  

As first lady, Mrs. Trump consistently and purposely showed her support for our armed forces with thoughtful gestures, such as selecting U.S. military musicians for entertainment at White House events, saying, ‘supporting our military is a fundamental belief of mine.’ The state dinner in honor of Australia included the largest gathering of premier military musicians for a state dinner at the executive residence, with over 150 members surrounding the guests in the Rose Garden of the White House.  

In 2018, Mrs. Trump also traveled into a war zone visiting the troops over the Christmas holiday. One can be certain that her continued support of the United States military is something that will be highlighted.  

Any careful review of First Lady Melania Trump’s first term would also include her immense pride in our nation and her appreciation for preserving the Executive Mansion. Mrs. Trump said it was her testament to preserving history, ‘contributing something lasting and beautiful to the American people, transcending politics and partisanship.’  

This preservation work included projects such as the renovation of the White House Rose Garden, the Queen’s Bedroom, the redesign of the rug in the Diplomatic Reception room (now on display for public tours thanks to Dr. Jill Biden) and replacing the historic Red Room’s Scalamandre silk wallpaper (that had faded to pink). Additionally, Mrs. Trump’s projects included things not regularly seen by the public, such as updating bathrooms, the doors of the private residence, the bowling alley and the total restoration of the White House Tennis Pavilion to name just a few.  

Mrs. Trump did not yet have the opportunity to design a Trump china service, which is a custom most two-term first ladies proudly continue at no cost to the taxpayer. She often preferred the Clinton China, the 200th Anniversary of President John Adams moving into the White House, gold-trimmed china, which has a White House motif for her entertaining. She could also create a 250th Anniversary crystal set to further commemorate the Semiquincentennial, since it is well known that the White House needs new crystal.  

The one constant for both Mrs. Trump and America is the White House itself, due in large part to the amazing Executive Residence staff that takes care of the President’s House and every first family that inhabits it. First Lady Frances Cleveland reportedly told the president’s footman, ‘Now, Jerry, I want you to take good care of all the furniture and ornaments in the house, and not let any of them get lost or broken, for I want to find everything just as it is now, when we come back again.’ 

As first lady, Mrs. Trump consistently and purposely showed her support for our armed forces with thoughtful gestures such as selecting U.S. military musicians for entertainment at White House events, saying, ‘supporting our military is a fundamental belief of mine.’ 

For First Lady Melania Trump’s return, many things will look the same; however, some things will be very different personally. Her beloved mother, who passed away earlier this year, will not be there with her. First son Barron Trump is now 18 years old and will be attending college and living in New York City. 

First Lady Lady Bird Johnson eloquently said, ‘This house is only on loan to its tenants, that we are temporary occupants, linked to a continuity of presidents who have come before us and who will succeed us.’ Like other United States first ladies, Mrs. Trump understands and appreciates the continuity of history, the importance of tradition, the value of preservation, and the power of the Office of the First Lady to be a positive, unifying office for good. 

It will be up to incoming First Lady Melania Trump to create the term and legacy she wants for herself, and every indication given shows she is fully prepared to make the Office of the First Lady exactly as she wants it to be.  

The incoming Trump administration should embrace a more muscular approach to counter China’s increasingly aggressive behavior in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. The stakes could not be higher. Absent a major course correction, Beijing will continue to make diplomatic and military gains at our expense and the risk of war will increase. 

By meddling in our elections, embedding itself in our national infrastructure, browbeating our allies, and continuing its massive military buildup, China has advanced its interests and diminished America’s credibility. The Biden administration’s muted response has served only to encourage further aggression. 

Consider, for example, China’s adventurism in the South China Sea. In addition to fortifying its manmade islands, which are now bristling with weapons, China has repeatedly rammed, fired lasers, and shot water cannons at Filipino fishermen and coast guardsmen operating in Filipino waters. 

China’s warships and fighters have also buzzed U.S. warships and aircraft well over 100 times in the past few years, according to the Pentagon’s most recent report on China. Yet this reckless behavior has elicited little more than furrowed brows and finger wags from U.S. officials.   

China continues to browbeat Taiwan with an unrelenting stream of menacing maneuvers aimed at coercion. The People’s Liberation Army has normalized such large exercises to the point that Taiwanese officials have expressed concern they could provide cover for an actual invasion. 

China’s aggression extends well beyond the Indo-Pacific region, even putting Americans at risk right here at home. China has already penetrated our key national infrastructure, such as pipelines and electrical grids with its cyber intrusions. In the event of conflict, China is ready to pounce with ‘low blows’ against our citizenry, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray.  

China’s provocations extended to our 2024 presidential election. The intelligence community recently publicized China’s efforts to hack into the phones of both presidential campaigns, including then-candidates Donald Trump and JD Vance. This comes on top of intelligence community revelations that China has actively sought to influence key congressional races with its influence operations, thus striking at the heart of our electoral process. 

The Biden administration has said precious little in response to these disclosures. This sets a bad precedent. Passive responses today will engender more aggression in the future, which will make outright conflict with China more likely.  

The underlying problem is that the Biden administration has placed undue emphasis on ‘competition’ with China. This metaphor is seriously misplaced. Ping pong players ‘compete’ according to agreed-upon rules and gentlemanly norms of sportsmanship. Yet China is a rule-breaker that clearly has no interest in playing nice. Instead of playing games, Beijing seeks to refashion the international order in its image. 

The Biden administration has spilled rivers of ink explaining its theory of ‘integrated deterrence,’ which it announced with great fanfare with the release of its 2022 National Defense Strategy. For the most part, this was simply a repackaging of old ideas. China remains unimpressed and undeterred, as its catalogue of aggression indicates.           

Restoring deterrence requires a more robust U.S. approach – one that does not shy away from confronting China with targeted measures when and where necessary. Slapping China with tariffs is a good start. So is ramping up freedom of navigation exercises with U.S. warships in the South China Sea. Trump should also take any potential summit with President Xi off the table until China stops menacing Taiwan with its provocative exercises. 

To preserve the peace, the U.S. must also better prepare for outright conflict with China. This includes providing the military with the tools necessary to defeat the PLA quickly and decisively if conflict erupts. It means sharpening war plans and formulating strategies that target the Chinese Communist Party’s ability to control not only its military forces, but also its own people.  

China’s provocations extended to our 2024 presidential election. The intelligence community recently publicized China’s efforts to hack into the phones of both presidential campaigns, including then-candidates Donald Trump and JD Vance. 

All this will require more resources. Defense budgets that fail to keep pace with inflation will no longer suffice. Congress must increase defense spending on a sustained basis in real terms. 

Weakness invites provocation. Outdated notions of deterrence and competition no longer suffice to keep the dragon at bay. Military strength and political resolve are needed to reduce the risk of conflict.  

It is time to confront China. 

The tumultuous two years of the 118th Congress are likely to be capped by one more standoff over government spending.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., signaled to Fox News Digital that it was unlikely Republicans will move to kick fiscal 2025 federal funding discussions into the new year.

But he reiterated vows that House Republicans would fight against rolling all 12 annual appropriations bills into one large ‘omnibus’ package, setting up a possible showdown with Senate Democrats.

‘The ideal scenario would be we get an agreement for the remainder of the fiscal year,’ Scalise said.

He cited constraints on national security if Congress were to simply extend fiscal 2024 funding levels.

‘When you think about defense funding, it costs us money to have short-term funding bills when you cannot do long-term procurement, to buy the kind of long-range defense systems that we need to compete with China,’ Scalise said. ‘China is not operating on short-term spending bills, neither should we.’

Before recessing in September, House Republicans and Senate Democrats agreed to extend fiscal 2024 funding levels through what’s known as a continuing resolution (CR) to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

That bought congressional negotiators through Dec. 20 to hash out a deal.

At the time, several supporters of President-elect Donald Trump demanded that the CR run into the new year in the hopes a new Republican administration would take the reins, something opposed by senior GOP lawmakers and national security hawks.

If Republicans win the House in addition to the Senate and White House, Trump will have a say over how a GOP-controlled Congress handles spending in the fall next year. A number of House races remain undecided days after Tuesday’s general election.

Scalise also cited several other priorities, like the border crisis and extending tax cuts, that will take up much of the beginning of Trump’s term.

As for this year’s negotiations, however, both sides are still far apart.

House Republicans have accused Senate Democrats of slow-walking the process without having passed any of their own spending bills on the floor in a bid to force the GOP to swallow an end-of-year ‘omnibus’ with excess spending and little transparency.

Democrats have in turn criticized House Republicans’ spending bills, several of which passed the House floor, as pushing draconian cuts and conservative policies deemed ‘non-starters.’

‘We have a lot of conversations to have with our members about the best approach,’ Scalise said. ‘When we had left, we had already passed over 70% of the government funding bills through the House, and the Senate hadn’t passed any.’

‘We’re trying to get agreements on the individual bills. That’s why the House did our job … hopefully we can start getting those agreements when we return.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., about whether he anticipates an omnibus, which he has ushered through the Senate nearly every year he’s been majority leader, at the end of this year.

If an agreement is not reached by Dec. 20, the country could face a partial government shutdown just weeks before the new presidential administration.

Vice President Harris suffered a massive loss to President-elect Donald Trump this week, losing her campaign as Trump swept battleground and traditionally Republican states alike that catapulted him past the needed 270 electoral college votes. 

Harris’ truncated campaign cycle, which only launched toward the end of July after President Biden dropped out of the race and passed the torch to his VP, was marked by a handful of gaffes and missteps that haunted her efforts to court voters and became political fodder for Trump and his campaign. 

Fox News Digital examined Harris’ roughly 100-day campaign and compiled the vice president’s biggest campaign mistakes that likely cost her support at the ballot box. 

Harris declares she would not do anything differently than President Biden

In what was arguably Harris’ biggest campaign misstep, the vice president declared early in October while appearing on ‘The View’ that she could not think of an example of where she differed with President Biden on a policy decision or political position across the administration. 

‘If anything, would you have done something differently than President Biden during the past four years?’ 

‘There is not a thing that comes to mind,’ Harris answered.

Harris’ comment stands in stark contrast to how voters were feeling: They were unhappy with the current administration’s leadership.  

Preliminary data from the Fox News Voter Analysis, a survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide, found that the majority of voters headed into the polls believing the country was headed in the wrong direction. 

Voters ahead of casting their ballots reported that the country was on the wrong track (70%, up from 60% who felt that way four years ago) and seeking something different. Most wanted a change in how the country is run, with roughly a quarter seeking complete and total upheaval.

‘Kamala Harris is more of the same,’ Vice President-elect JD Vance posted to X last month about Harris’ comment on ‘The View.’ ‘She admits it herself.’

‘This will be the nail in Kamala Harris’s coffin,’ The Federalist co-founder Sean Davis predicted last month. 

‘It reminds me of John Kerry’s ‘I voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it’ comment about Iraq war funding when he was fighting charges of being a spineless flip-flopper,’ he added. ‘That single comment ended his campaign.’

Harris accused of using ‘new accent’ during campaign events; ‘word salad’ gaffes 

Harris was accused a handful of times of unveiling a ‘new accent’ while speaking to different voters across the country, including critics comparing her to a cartoon character at one point and a preacher at another campaign event. 

Harris traveled to the Church of Christian Compassion in Philadelphia last month, where she spoke to the predominantly Black congregants and telling them that in just nine days, voters will ‘have the power to decide the fate of our nation for generations to come.’

Harris cited the Book of Psalms in her remarks, including saying, ‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the mornin’. The path may seem hard, the work may seem heavy, but joy cometh in the mornin’ and church morning is on its way.’ 

Critics on social media pounced on clips of Harris quoting Psalms, saying she debuted a new ‘pastor’ accent, comparing her inflection to the late Rev. Martin Luther King’s oratory.

While speaking before union workers during a Detroit Labor Day rally, she was criticized for using an accent that was compared to ‘Foghorn Leghorn.’

‘Since when does the vice president have what sounds like a Southern accent?’ Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in September after her Detroit speech that was compared to the cartoon character. 

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ Jean-Pierre replied.

‘Well, she was talking about unions in Detroit using one tone of voice, she used the same line in Pittsburgh, and it sounded like she at least had some kind of Southern drawl,’ Doocy pressed.

‘I mean, do you hear the question that you’re – I mean, do you think Americans seriously think that this is an important question?’ Jean-Pierre pushed back. ‘You know what they care about? They care about the economy, they care about lowering costs, they care about health care. That’s what they want to hear … democracy and freedom … I’m not going to even entertain some question about … it’s just … hearing it sounds so ridiculous. The question – I’m talking about the question – is just insane.’

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a native of Chicago, has also repeatedly been accused of employing different accents across her decades in the public eye, most notably for using a southern drawl.

Harris was also slammed for rambling ‘word salads’ during repeated public events, which the Trump campaign and critics frequently mocked. 

‘We need to guard that spirit. We have to guard that spirit. Let it always inspire us. Let it always be the source of our optimism, which is that spirit that is uniquely American. Let that then inspire us by helping us to be inspired to solve the problems that so many face, including our small business owners,’ Harris said, for example, in September while speaking to the Economic Club of Pittsburgh. 

‘I grew up understanding the children of the community are the children of the community, and we should all have a vested interest in ensuring that children can go grow up with the resources that they need to achieve their God-given potential,’ she said at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 47th annual Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., in September. 

In another ‘word salad’ misstep just days ahead of the election, Harris said, ‘We are here because we are fighting for a democracy. Fighting for a democracy. And understand the difference here, understand the difference here, moving forward, moving forward, understand the difference here.’

Harris avoids the media for weeks, fails to hold a press conference 

Harris carried out her 107-day campaign without holding a single press conference, and she avoided sit-down media interviews for the first 38 days of her campaign before finally joining CNN for an interview. 

Trump held at least six news conferences in which he took questions from the media since the beginning of August. Harris held none, but did have a few informal press gaggles throughout the campaign.

The Harris-Walz campaign increased their media presence in the final weeks of the campaign, including Harris joining a CNN town hall and interviews with NBC News, Telemundo and CBS, in addition to several podcasts and local news stations. She also sat down with Fox News’ Bret Baier last month, which Baier described as a ‘contentious’ interview. 

Touted celebrity endorsements in campaign events 

Harris repeatedly leaned on celebrities during the campaign, including touting their star status for flash rallies. 

Harris held a rally last month in red Texas where she was joined by celebrities such as Beyoncé, Jessica Alba and Willie Nelson. Harris’ rally included an estimated 30,000 people as word spread that Beyoncé was slated to appear at the rally. The pop star officially endorsed Harris during her appearance but did not perform any songs.

Ahead of the rally, media outlets such as MSNBC reported Beyoncé would not only appear but would also likely perform at the rally. Beyoncé did not perform, sparking the Trump campaign to argue that Harris ‘lied’ about Beyoncé’s appearance at the rally in order to ‘build a crowd.’

In Pennsylvania, which was viewed as the state that would likely determine the outcome of the overall election, Harris held a bevy of events on her final day on the campaign trail. She was joined at rallies in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia by celebrities such as Cedric the Entertainer, Katy Perry, Andra Day, DJ Cassidy, Fat Joe and Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga. 

‘The other thing that makes me nervous, in 2016 we had a big star-studded event right on the edge of the election, and we lost the state,’ liberal political analyst Van Jones said on CNN ahead of the election, referring to Harris’ Pennsylvania rallies. 

Harris’ steady support from celebrities comes as voters reported that the economy and jobs were their most important issues heading into the election as inflation since 2021 has throttled Americans’ pocketbooks. 

Lackluster VP selection 

After Biden’s exit from the race – as concerns mounted over his mental acuity and age – Harris simultaneously launched her campaign as well as her search for a running mate, combing through a list of high-profile Democrats and lesser-known allies before choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Democrats ultimately rallied behind Walz, but another choice, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, was viewed by many as the better candidate to get the Democratic Party across the finish line victoriously.

‘As a founding member of She Shoulda Picked Shapiro, I think it’s relatively clear now that she made a mistake,’ statistician Nate Silver told the New York Times ahead of Election Day. 

‘Pennsylvania seems to be lagging a little behind the other blue-wall states. Meanwhile, Walz was mediocre in the debate, and he’s been mediocre and nervous in his public appearances.’

Harris-Walz surrogate Lindy Li told Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich from Howard University, where Harris held her election night party, that Shapiro would likely have aided the Harris campaign’s efforts to notch a massive victory. 

‘One of the things that are top of mind is the choice of Tim Walz as vice presidential candidate,’ Li said. ‘A lot of people are saying tonight that it should have been Josh Shapiro. Frankly, people have been saying that for months.’

Considering Pennsylvania’s battleground-state status, the popular first-term governor was viewed as a potential key for the Harris campaign to reach the coveted 270 electoral votes to lock up the election. Shapiro, who is Jewish, was also touted as a potential bridge for the Harris campaign to court Jewish voters amid backlash over her previous comments defending anti-Israel protesters who rocked college campuses last year during the war in Israel.

Pennsylvania ultimately voted for Trump and moved him across the finish line.

Fox News Digital’s Brian Flood and David Rutz contributed to this report.