During her husband’s first presidential inauguration, in January 2017, Melania Trump was a newcomer to Washington, a first lady who draped herself in baby-blue cashmere to evoke memories of Jacqueline Kennedy and whose tight smile, at moments, seemed to dissolve into a scowl.
The years have evidently changed her.
Throughout her husband’s first term, Mrs. Trump would go on to keep her physical and emotional distance from the capital, choosing to focus on raising her son, Barron, and retreat from the public eye.
While other family members, like Ivanka Trump, have seemingly enjoyed spending years smiling widely for the cameras and posting their travels (and high-status friends) on social media, Mrs. Trump and her son remained closed off. But on Monday, the returning first lady and the son she had once shielded from the public eye used Monday’s inauguration to reintroduce themselves.
One of the biggest changes occurred before they set foot in the capital. Along with the rest of the family, Mrs. Trump has signaled that she will be more unapologetic about the ethical concerns that followed her family through President Trump’s first term. The woman who once abandoned jewelry and skin care lines unveiled her own cryptocurrency, $MELANIA, hours before Mr. Trump’s swearing in. So far, both Trumps have shrugged off complaints.
Barron Trump is now treated as an adviser by his father and as something of a next-generation MAGA mascot by his father’s supporters: He pushed his father to join podcasts during the campaign and urged the sort of crypto projects that his parents are participating in. During the launch of Mr. Trump’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, in September, Barron Trump was named listed as the project’s “DeFi visionary,” a reference to the branch of crypto known as decentralized finance.
Eight years ago, Barron Trump was an 11-year-old who was seen smiling with his sister, Tiffany, as his father was sworn in at the Capitol. On Monday, Barron Trump remained largely by his mother’s side, but the change in him was obvious.
During the ceremony, Barron Trump took prime position, smiling and clapping alongside Elon Musk, the billionaire who has landed near the center of Mr. Trump’s circle of advisers. He shook former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s hand as he departed the dais in the Rotunda. He was also photographed hobnobbing at a congressional luncheon, speaking with Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Pete Hegseth, his father’s nominee for defense secretary. He also animatedly talked with the billionaire Jeff Bezos, who is the chairman of Amazon and the owner of The Washington Post.
Later, Barron Trump was greeted with a hero’s welcome at a political rally at Capital One Arena in Washington. Whenever his face appeared on the video board, the crowd responded with wild applause.
For her part, Mrs. Trump dispensed with some of the niceties she stuck to as incoming first lady in 2017. She did not arrive at the White House clutching a gift for her predecessor, Jill Biden, as she had done for Michelle Obama, who skipped this year’s inauguration. She and Dr. Biden greeted each other warmly, ignoring some of the slights of inaugurations past. (The Trumps did not attend the Mr. Biden’s ceremony.)
For Mrs. Trump, the last change from 2017 was visual, but no less significant.
Wearing a double-breasted navy coat and a wide-brimmed hat, Mrs. Trump now seems less interested in emulating another first lady who had gone before her, as she did with the ode to Mrs. Kennedy eight years ago.
This time, she called back to one of her own eye-catching ensembles: She had sported a wide-brimmed hat during a state visit by the French in 2018. Her custom-designed white hat back then was the talk of the town while still keeping much of her face shielded from the limelight.
Mrs. Trump, a former model, has long asked for people to focus on what she does and not what she wears, but has also implicitly invited her observers to do both. (On Monday, her navy hat appeared to have the added effect of physically distancing herself from her husband, who went in for a kiss on the cheek but was stopped by the large brim.)
Mrs. Trump has signaled that Americans — or Washingtonians, at least — will be seeing more of her than last time, because she plans to spend more time in Washington from the beginning. Mrs. Trump delayed moving to Washington during the first term to make sure her son was properly settled and adjusted.
Last week, she told Fox News that she will be a regular presence in Washington, with plans to spend time in New York and at the family’s home in Palm Beach, Fla. Mrs. Trump has said that she will also continue Be Best, the child-focused initiative she started during the first Trump term.
Maggie Haberman and Maya C. Miller contributed reporting.
