- Melania Trump was "annoyed" by FBI agents rummaging through her closet, CNN reported.
- "She's private, and she's protective of her son and her home," a source close to her told CNN.
Former First Lady Melania Trump is "annoyed" about the FBI rifling through her bedroom and closet at Mar-a-Lago but not overly concerned about the federal investigation into her husband, former President Donald Trump, CNN reported.
A source close to the former first lady told CNN that the search "annoyed her" not because the investigation poses a legal threat to her husband and family, but because the raid breached her privacy.
"She's private, and she's protective of her son and her home," a source close to her explained to CNN.
Donald Trump, for his part, was incensed by FBI agents going through Melania's closet in the August 8 search of his Palm Beach, Florida golf club and residence, Politico reported. The search stemmed from an ongoing federal investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents after leaving office.
"Just learned that agents went through the First Lady's closets and rummaged through her clothing and personal items. Surprisingly, left area in a relative mess. Wow!," Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, after the raid.
But Melania has stayed characteristically silent about the search and has made no public comments about the investigation. "She cared, but not like he cared," one source close to her told CNN.
"Why would she say anything?" a "person familiar with her communication style told CNN. "Her thinking is, if she's quiet, it will just go away."
Other sources pointed out that Melania isn't overly concerned about what the FBI agents could have found in her space, because she and her husband keep separate closets and separate their items.
"She would never allow him to keep his stuff in her room, and he would frankly never ask," a source told CNN.
A source close to the Trumps told CNN that Melania "has always considered what Donald does to be separate from her," adding, "decisions he makes about his business are his decisions, not hers."
Melania Trump has made few public appearances in the past month, most recently appearing at the funeral of her husband's first wife Ivana Trump, and, CNN reported, to a Manhattan hair salon.
Melania has kept a low profile since leaving office, and has forgone taking on many of the traditional public initiatives and engagements of many former first ladies.
Instead, her main project has been selling digital nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, of White House memorabilia from her time in office. One collection included an Hervé Pierre hat, a watercolor painting, and an NFT commemorating French President Emmanuel Macron's 2018 state visit to the United States.
"I would imagine as the wife and mother of his child, she must be worried (about the future)," the longtime acquaintance of the Trump family told CNN. "She might at least be a little worried about how her own life will change."
But Kate Andersen Brower, the author of a book on first ladies, told CNN that it's "a wasted opportunity for a former first lady not to stay relevant" with flagship initiatives.
"It's very unusual for a former first lady not to take advantage of her continued power and prestige after she leaves office. But I've learned it's a losing game to try and make sense of what Melania is doing," Andersen Brower told CNN.