According to the book, one debate was Trump's long obsession with the Fox networks. Melania preferred CNN, the author says.
Like her husband, however, she too tracked journalists who were critical of her, People magazine reported in its write-up of the book. Calling it a "house divided," Rogers said Melania watched CNN just as "voraciously" as Trump did Fox.
It was reported in July 2018 that when Trump boarded Air Force One for an overseas trip, the ex-president saw Melania's television turned to CNN and was so furious he ordered all TVs be tuned to Fox in the future.
The moment was captured in an exchange of emails between the White House Military Office and the White House Communications Agency, which called it "a bit of a stir."
In another incident, the couple fought over the decor in the personal residence of the first family.
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Each family that moves into the White House chooses furniture and decoration to help the political fortress appear more like home.
Trump's taste tended to be flashy, outlandish and gold. Melania preferred a more modern style. Rogers writes that at one point, the president ordered his wife's choices be replaced "with several pieces he liked better."
"Without so much as control over the decor, Melania still wanted to signal to the public that she was optimistic about her future in Washington," Rogers added. That's when Melania took to Twitter, posting the message, “Looking forward to the memories we’ll make in our new home!” The photo darkens the furniture in the room, instead focusing on the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorials, visible from the residence.
Rogers explained that Melania tried to maintain her independence on decor by setting up her own bedroom suite outside of her husband's and decorating it to her standards. The first couple was always rumored to sleep in different rooms, but the book appears to confirm Mrs. Trump had her own space.
Melania also moved her parents into the room where Michelle Obama's mother previously lived.
Other heated debates came when there were national disasters like mass shootings. The book explains Melania "did not seem to mind standing apart from her husband."
Among the first incidents was the Charlottesville, Virginia, "Unite the Right" rally, where white supremacists killed one woman and injured several others. Speaking from Trump Tower, the ex-president proclaimed there were "very fine people, on both sides."
Melania, on the other hand, "quickly discouraged violence," the book recalls. She posted on Twitter: “Our country encourages freedom of speech, but let’s communicate w/o hate in our hearts. No good comes from violence."
There was also the NFL protest, when Black players kneeled during the national anthem in protest. Other branches of athletics quickly joined. Trump was irate, claiming the players were unpatriotic. Melania responded differently.
"Her tweets were small gestures that amounted to little more than digital ephemera," Rogers said. "Still, compared with her husband’s bridge burners, Melania’s missives established her as a rare figure in the Trump administration who seemed more interested in calming a cultural divide than widening it."
There were moments when she stood with her husband, however. When reports of migrant children being kept in squalor and cages came in, she responded by wearing a jacket that read on the back, "I Really Don't Care. Do U?" It continues to be one of the most famous moments of hers from her time in the White House, People wrote. Even by Trump standards, Rogers called it "chaotic."
Former Melania Chief of Staff Stephanie Grisham told Rogers she "later recalled that Trump summoned the two of them to his office, yelled at them, and then decided that the official explanation for the jacket would be that Melania was speaking directly to the media."
One of the other rumored battles was over Trump's affairs making it into the news. Namely, it was revealed that, before being elected president, Trump paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to stay quiet about a relationship. It was reported that the affair happened shortly before she gave birth to their son Barron.
The furious Mrs. Trump canceled attending an overseas trip when the news came out. Instead, she went to Mar-a-Lago.
"Grisham, who traveled with her on that jaunt, said that the First Lady had wanted to communicate her anger to the president," Rogers recalled.
Grisham went on to call the move intentional.
“I think she was p---ed at Trump and wanted him to be a little humiliated that she took off," said Grisham.
