Ex-Melania Trump Friend Rebukes Her ‘Unpatriotic’ Conduct

In a rebuke of Melania Trump, her one-time confidante and adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, has accused the former first lady on Saturday of “unpatriotic” behavior, alleging that she exploited a national symbol for personal gain.
Winston Wolkoff, author of The New York Times bestseller, Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady, took to X, formerly Twitter, to voice her concerns about what she perceives as a blurring of lines “between legality and morality” in Melania Trump’s recent business venture.
At the center of the controversy are ornaments and trinkets being sold by the former first lady that, according to Winston Wolkoff, bear a striking resemblance to the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“The tension between legality and mortality is where Melania Trump toes the line. FLOTUS of the USA altered the image of The Medal of Freedom to monetize from it for personal gain,” Winston Wolkoff wrote on X on Saturday evening. “It’s an exploitation of a national symbol & disrespects its symbolic meaning. It’s unpatriotic.”
Newsweek has contacted Melania Trump’s office via online form on Sunday for comment.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom, established by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, is one of the highest civilian honors in the United States. It is awarded by the president to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the security or national interests of America, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
This is not the first time Winston Wolkoff has been at odds with the Trumps. After serving as an unpaid senior adviser to Melania Trump during the early days of the Trump administration and playing a key role in planning Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration, Winston Wolkoff’s relationship with the first lady soured. She has since become a vocal critic of Donald and Melania Trump.
The fallout between Winston Wolkoff and the Trumps has been public and acrimonious. In a Truth Social post in June, the former president referred to Winston Wolkoff as a “total airhead who was dumped by Melania years ago for being a publicity seeking airhead who added nothing.” Winston Wolkoff fired back on X, asserting that she had quit her position rather than being dismissed.
“I must have hit a nerve!” she responded. “I find it baffling & shocking Trump hired ‘an airhead’ to produce 18 Trump inaugural events acting as Melania’s senior advisor….’Airhead,’ I’m not. Melania didn’t have the chance to ‘dump me.’ I QUIT! (And have the letter to prove it!)”
This latest controversy comes at a time when the Trump family continues to face scrutiny over their business dealings and use of their political prominence for financial gain. Critics like Winston Wolkoff argue that the commercialization of symbols closely associated with the presidency erodes the dignity of the office and blurs the line between public service and private enterprise.
Recent financial disclosures filed by Donald Trump with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) have shed light on Melania Trump’s post-White House earnings. The documents, verified by Newsweek, reveal that Melania earned over $237,000 for a speaking engagement with the Log Cabin Republicans in Palm Beach, Florida, in April 2024.
The disclosures also show that Melania Trump received $330,607 from a licensing agreement with Designers Manager for the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The former first lady launched her NFT site after leaving the White House, featuring digital renderings including likenesses of her face and a collection celebrating the Apollo 11 moon landing.
The documents also indicate the formation of a company called MKT World LLC, set up to manage Melania Trump’s speaking engagements and NFT sales. Furthermore, they reveal her property portfolio, including residential real estate in New York valued between $500,001 and $1 million and rental income from property in Ljubljana, Slovenia.