Melania Trump has one food she does not eat no matter where in the world she happens to be.
‘I made it known that I do not eat raw fish,’ she reveals in her memoir ‘Melania,’ out on Tuesday.
Her food preference became an issue when she and then President Donald Trump visited Japan in May 2019 for a formal state visit, which included a formal dinner at the Imperial Palace.
Ahead of the big night, Melania let her staff know that sushi was a no-no.
‘However, I still made an effort to try local cuisine whenever possible. That night in Tokyo, the meal was a delicious blend of flavors and textures, showcasing the best of Japanese cuisines while accommodating my preferences,’ she wrote.
The first couple were served a six-course meal of consommé a la royale and turbot a la meunière sauce tomate, followed by cote de boeuf rotie, salade de saison, glace mont fuji and a sixth course of melon and grapes.
No raw fish was in sight.
Melania wore a light pink and silver-feathered caped dress to the black-tie dinner, which was hosted by the Japanese emperor and empress.
During that visit, the Trumps also went out to dinner a traditional Japanese restaurant with then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie Abe.
Again, sushi was left off the menu.
The two couples enjoyed baked potatoes with butter, salad, wagyu beef steak with broccoli and carrots and vanilla ice cream for dessert.
The detail is one of the few personal revelations in her memoir, which touches on her time as first lady without getting into some of the more controversial moments, such as Stormy Daniels allegation she had an affair with Donald Trump.
The 256-page book is filled with stories from Melania’s childhood in Slovenia and photos from her private life, including her childhood in Europe and raising her son Barron in New York.
The former first lady has been the subject of many biographies and books but this is the first time she is telling her story.
She is selling two editions: a $150 collector’s edition featuring 256 pages in full color throughout, with each copy signed by the author. The memoir edition will be 304 pages and available for $40 with signed copies available for $75.
Her book has some shocking revelations, such as she supports a woman’s right to choose when it comes to abortion – contrast to her husband’s position on the issue.
The former first lady wrote that she’s ‘carried this belief’ for her ‘entire adult life’.
‘It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government,’ Melania writes.
‘Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,’ she continues.
‘Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body,’ she says. ‘I have carried this belief with me throughout my entire adult life.’
The eyebrow-raising admission came just one month before her husband battles it out in the presidential election with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, with abortion rights set to be one of the most decisive issues among voters.
In her book, the former first lady also revealed why she wore her ‘I really don’t care’ jacket to the Texas border to visit migrant children being held separate from their parents.
She details the story in section of the book where she claims she forced husband Donald to drop his hardline immigration policy of separating children from their parents at the border under the administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy.
But when on a surprise visit to survey a migrant detention center in June 2018, she caused a frenzy when she wore a jacket with the message ‘I really don’t care. Do U?’
It caused an avalanche of criticism as she left the world guessing what she meant by making such a bold statement.
Melania called the message ‘discreet yet impactful’ and claimed it was meant to protest against ‘anonymously sourced reporting.’
‘I was determined… not to let the media’s false narratives affect my mission to help the children and families at the border,’ she writes.
‘In fact, I decided to let them know that their criticism would never stop me from doing what I feel is right. To make the point, I wore a particular jacket as I boarded the plane, a jacket that quickly became famous,’ she added.
Trump recounts how when the plane door closed, her press secretary’s inbox was ‘flooded with urgent emails from top-tier media outlets regarding the jacket.’
‘It’s a message for the media,’ I said, ‘to let them know I was unconcerned with their opinions of me’ [but] she told me I couldn’t say that. ‘Why not? It is the truth.” Trump wrote about their exchange.
‘I disagreed with her insistence that I couldn’t say that,’ Trump wrote. ‘Ignoring my comments, she told a CNN reporter she was friendly with that it was simply a jacket, a fashion choice with no underlying message.’
Trump wrote that the frenzy over the jacket ‘overshadowed the importance of the children, the border, and the policy change.’ She called it ‘just another example of the media’s irresponsible behavior.’
Her press secretary at the time, Stephanie Grisham, disputed Trump’s account that the jacket was to target the media in her own book.
The now Trump-critic claimed when they returned to Washington, D.C., after the trip, Trump was the one to come up with the idea, telling them to say they were ‘talking to the f***ing press.’
The administration was embroiled in controversy for taking a hardline approach to stopping illegal migrants from entering the U.S., threatening to arrest every single perpetrator coming across the southern border.
As a result, family members would be temporarily detained separately while going through the processing procedures.
The policy caused an international uproar in 2018 while her husband was president, but the ex-first lady says she made him stop it.
‘This has to stop,’ the former first lady said she told her husband.
She wrote she was ’emphasizing the trauma it was causing these families’ and he ‘assured her’ he would investigate before announcing the end of the policy on June 20, 2018.
She called the family separations ‘unacceptable.’