President Donald Trump has suggested he might make his post-presidency home near a North Carolina military base, joking to soldiers at Fort Bragg that he could relocate there with the First Lady. Speaking on Friday during a visit to the sprawling installation, Mr Trump veered from his usual stump speech to boast about the “billions” his administration is purportedly investing in housing and other facilities at the base.
“In fact, I'm thinking about moving here someday. Maybe I'll, maybe I'll move here with our great movie star ... with our First Lady,” he said, turning to Melania Trump, who had accompanied him in a rare joint appearance. “We'll move to Fort. Bragg. Would you like that, darling?” The First Lady laughed and appeared to nod, prompting the President to tell assembled troops: “She loves you.”
While the remarks were made in jest, Mr Trump does have family ties to North Carolina through his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, a native of the state who has twice considered but rejected chances to run for open Senate seats there. The President and First Lady previously changed their primary residence in 2019, formally shifting their domicile from New York's Trump Tower to Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach social club, after Mr Trump complained of being “treated very badly” by political leaders in New York amid multiple investigations.
The First Lady's appearance alongside her husband came weeks after the release of a documentary about her preparations for his January inauguration, purchased by Amazon for $40 million in a deal critics derided as a payoff. Amazon reportedly spent a further $35 million marketing the film, which has so far brought in just over $13 million at the box office since its theatrical release last month.
Mr Trump referenced the documentary's performance during his remarks, telling the troops that the United States “is truly blessed to have such a phenomenal First Lady.”
