US Politics
Melania Trump rings opening bell at stock exchange ahead of movie premiere
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Melania Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday morning to start the day’s trading.
The first lady appeared at the stock exchange ahead of the premiere of her new documentary, Melania, on Jan. 30.
With a large image promoting her documentary behind her, Melania was gifted a medallion and a glass plaque to commemorate the occasion.
Minutes after his wife’s appearance, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, “The S&P 500 just hit 7000 for the FIRST TIME EVER. AMERICA IS BACK!!!”
The film, meanwhile, was scheduled to premiere at the Kennedy Center this week before being rolled out at select US movie theaters.
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It was initially announced that Amazon was paying $40m for the rights to Melania, a documentary about the first lady. The price was said to constitute the highest-ever fee for a documentary film and a further $35m has reportedly been spent promoting the movie.
A screening at the White House Saturday was attended by the president and first lady, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Mike Tyson, and the Queen of Jordan, among others.
Melania was shot in the three weeks leading up to the second Trump inauguration and boasted rare insider access to the often inscrutable first lady while she makes arrangements for the president’s transition to power.
Melania described the film to Fox News as a “private, unfiltered look as I navigate family, business, and philanthropy on my remarkable journey to becoming first lady.”
Marc Beckman, Melania’s outside adviser and agent, has claimed that the film is “not political at all” – but it’s already being dismissed as propaganda by some online critics.
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Melania Trump’s documentary premiere comes as tensions are high around the U.S. after two American citizens were killed by federal immigration agents within weeks in Minnesota.
The first lady issued a rare political statement Tuesday, calling for protests to remain peaceful and urging unity.