Is Melania Trump the most reclusive first lady yet?
On Wednesday morning, Melania Trump made a rare appearance at the State Department in Washington to speak at the International Women of Courage Awards.
Trump has made five public appearances at official events during the month of March, according to INSIDE EDITION. In February, she made only four.
See photos of her recent appearance:
The first lady spends most of her time in the penthouse of Trump Tower in New York City -- and some people are unhappy about that.
A petition demanding Trump to move to the White House or pay for her own security has been circulating. It states that an "exorbitant amount of money" has been spent on her protection, though she does not live in the White House with her husband full time.
Trump has said repeatedly that she is going to move to the White House when her 10-year-old son, Barron, finishes private school in June. But until then, even paparazzi have stopped looking for the first lady because she is so rarely seen.
A recent Washington Post article points out that the "reclusive and elusive" first lady "approaches her role with a discernible reticence, her paucity of public appearances overshadowed by a vanishing act that stretches days on end."
Julianna Smoot, a former social secretary in the Obama White House, told INSIDE EDITION that Trump is just getting warmed up in her role.
"I think if we be a little patient," she said. "I think you will see her being a little more involved, I don't know that for sure but that is how it was for Mrs. Obama."
Compared to the impressive amount of work Michelle Obama did during her time as first lady, it doesn't look like Melania Trump has done much.
She's not the only person Trump has been compared to. The second lady, Karen Pence, is often in public by her husband's side as well -- not to mention the impact of former first lady Hillary Clinton, who was so involved that she became a senator, secretary of state and eventually a presidential candidate.
It's possible that Melania Trump is the most reclusive first lady in recent history, but she is certainly filling a unique role that has not been required before.
Louise Sunshine, a former Trump Organization executive, told the Washington Post that the first lady's role is complex, since the "president is the perpetual star of his own one-man show."
"There are a lot of forces there competing for attention," Sunshine said. "She's trying to assess the best way and the best place for her as the first lady and as the wife of a very impulsive, compulsive, erratic president. "
See photos of the couple:
