Melania Trump Gets A Brutal Backhanded Compliment That Puts Her Sham Marriage On Blast

On Wednesday, June 25, 2025, a hearing on "Restoring Integrity and Security to the Visa Process" took place at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. — and Melania Trump found herself on the receiving end of scrutiny. When Texas representative Jasmine Crockett brought up the fact that the current first lady was given an "Einstein visa" to become a United States citizen, it became a sticking point (via X, formerly Twitter). Vice President for Economic and Social Policy Studies at the CATO Institute, Alex Nowrasteh, was quick to give a smarmy remark, one that poked at the signs that Donald Trump and Melania might be headed towards a split.

Nowrasteh: I want to defend Melania. Not everyone could marry Donald Trump. I think that's quite an achievement. She deserves credit for that. Nobody up here could've done it pic.twitter.com/oWpwxNiJbL

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 25, 2025

Considering that people who receive EB-1 visas are meant to possess an extraordinary talent or accomplishment, Nowrasteh's remark that, " Not everyone could marry Donald Trump. I think that's quite an achievement," certainly speaks volumes. Of course, Nowrasteh is no fan of the current administration, but his backhanded desire "to defend Melania" does open up a specific can of worms. It's often been noted that Melania is considerably out of Donald's league, with many wondering what, exactly, is keeping the two together. With rumblings that Melania and Donald are already living separate lives, their marriage is certainly beginning to look more and more like a sham.

The exchange between Jasmine Crockett and Alex Nowrasteh is a prime example of the type of public prodding the marriage between Donald Trump and Melania Trump often gets. However, sometimes the call is coming from inside the house, like the time when Donald's thoughts on Melania's birthday dissolved any visage of a healthy marriage. While many have noted the rather stunning age gap between Melania and Donald as an example of why their marriage might be on the rocks, that would be underestimating the power Melania just might hold.

While it might have seemed easy for Nowrasteh to dunk on Melania for marrying a man of questionable tastes and talents, the joke does overlook an interesting morsel of the power dynamic between the first couple. Even though Donald is the president and could be considered one of the most powerful men in the world, there's evidence that Melania is really in control of their relationship. Not only has she put her foot down about only having one child with him, but she also seems to dictate how much PDA they show off as a couple. Like the idiom around combat sports, "whoever controls the distance controls the fight," it seems that Melania is doing an impeccable job of controlling the distance between herself and her husband. This might be a contributing factor to her achievement in marriage.