Brooke Rollins' Birthday Post For Melania Trump Gave A Rare Look At The First Lady

Since Melania Trump stepped back into the role of FLOTUS in January 2025, she has been selective about her public appearances. She does attend an occasional event at her husband Donald Trump's side, but she's never exactly fit the "warm, welcoming, keeper of the White House" vibe of past first ladies in both political parties. However, in an April 2025 birthday tribute to Melania on Instagram, Brooke Rollins, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in the president's second administration, gave the public a rare look at a more casual Melania. Shockingly, one of the two photos in Rollins' photo carousel is a selfie in which the usually serious, put-together first lady is smiling with teeth and wearing denim! 

"Happy happy happy birthday to the best — the best mom, the best wife, the best daughter, the best friend, the best American, the best First Lady. @melaniatrump so grateful for our years long friendship and your unwavering support of me," Rollins wrote in the caption of her post. "You inspire us all with your beauty, grace, but most of all your strength. Especially me!! Love you!! Here's to many more!!!"

There is no denying that Melania Trump has made an incredible transformation from a Yugoslavian former model, to the wife of billionaire Donald Trump, to the First Lady of the United States (twice). However, Brooke Rollins' birthday tribute to her on Instagram is surprising for more reasons than Melania's outfit and pose. The public rarely gets to see her acting like a friend, wife, or mother, let alone one that can be qualified as "the best" (Rollins' words) by any standards. Many former first ladies of the U.S. try to endear themselves to the public by emphasizing how much they relate to the average American's life, whether that be through their family, their faith, their past careers, or their love of American traditions. Other than her confusing 'Be Best' anti-bullying initiative, Melania has essentially done the opposite of that. 

For instance, her silence on the controversial renovation of the White House's East Wing is proof that she couldn't care less about being the first lady. If she cared, she'd be doing more to stop her husband and his associates from demolishing the historic wing of the White House where the first lady's office has been located. Her attitude on the issue is supporting what she said by wearing the infamous army green Zara jacket that said, "I really don't care, do you?" while visiting children who had been separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border in June 2018. It doesn't seem like Melania is trying to be the "best American" or the "best first lady," despite Rollins' words. But, at least she has one friend.