section_path: First tenure as First Lady of the United States (2017–2021)/COVID-19 and 2020 presidential campaign
section_name: COVID-19 and 2020 presidential campaign
paragraph_text: COVID-19 and 2020 presidential campaign
  
  Melania carried out a major reorganization of her staff in April 2020 in anticipation of her husband's reelection campaign. She appointed Marcia Lee Kelly as her senior advisor and Emma Doyle as her policy advisor. Melania's chief of staff, Lindsay Reynolds, was removed; her responsibilities went to Melania's communications director, Stephanie Grisham. Melania became an active campaigner for her husband during the 2020 presidential election, which was a strong contrast to her 2016 activity.
  
  When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Melania was criticized for promoting a White House renovation project. She took the topic more seriously after the COVID-19 lockdowns began, using her Twitter account to encourage social distancing during the pandemic and promote official medical advice. Much of what she posted directly contradicted what her husband posted, as he discouraged many of the recommended practices.
  
  On October 1, 2020, Melania's former advisor Stephanie Winston Wolkoff released audiotapes that featured Melania making profane statements about her image and role as first lady. In the tapes, she condemned the media for not giving her positive coverage, questioned why people wanted her to speak out against her husband when she supported his policies, and expressed frustration with her responsibility to oversee Christmas decorations in the White House. She also mentioned her "I really don't care, do u" jacket in the tapes, admitting that she wore it to irritate liberals. Winston Wolkoff had released the tapes alongside a tell-all book, Melania and Me. The Justice Department filed a civil suit against Winston Wolkoff in October 2019, alleging breach of a nondisclosure agreement, but it was dropped in February 2021 under the Biden administration. In September 2022, Melania said in an interview with Breitbart News that the audiotapes had been strategically edited to make people believe that her duties in the White House had been unimportant to her.
  
  Despite Donald's loss of the 2020 election, Melania ended her tenure by endorsing his false statement that he had been the legitimate election winner. For her final months in the White House, she stopped visiting her office in the East Wing and remained in the White House residence. Her focus at this time was on compiling photo albums of the decorations and renovations she had overseen through her tenure. Melania was managing photography at the White House when the January 6 United States Capitol attack took place and gave no comment at the time. She later said that she would have commented if she had been "fully informed of all the details". Her communications director Stephanie Grisham later stated she had sent Melania a text message asking her to make a statement condemning the violence and resigned when that did not happen. On January 18, Melania released a farewell video asking the American people to uphold the principles of her Be Best campaign. She did not contact incoming first lady Jill Biden to make transition arrangements or provide her the traditional tour of the White House. She did, however, follow the tradition of leaving a letter for the incoming first lady.
  
  Melania carried out a major reorganization of her staff in April 2020 in anticipation of her husband's reelection campaign. She appointed Marcia Lee Kelly as her senior advisor and Emma Doyle as her policy advisor. Melania's chief of staff, Lindsay Reynolds, was removed; her responsibilities went to Melania's communications director, Stephanie Grisham. Melania became an active campaigner for her husband during the 2020 presidential election, which was a strong contrast to her 2016 activity.
  
  When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Melania was criticized for promoting a White House renovation project. She took the topic more seriously after the COVID-19 lockdowns began, using her Twitter account to encourage social distancing during the pandemic and promote official medical advice. Much of what she posted directly contradicted what her husband posted, as he discouraged many of the recommended practices.
  
  On October 1, 2020, Melania's former advisor Stephanie Winston Wolkoff released audiotapes that featured Melania making profane statements about her image and role as first lady. In the tapes, she condemned the media for not giving her positive coverage, questioned why people wanted her to speak out against her husband when she supported his policies, and expressed frustration with her responsibility to oversee Christmas decorations in the White House. She also mentioned her "I really don't care, do u" jacket in the tapes, admitting that she wore it to irritate liberals. Winston Wolkoff had released the tapes alongside a tell-all book, Melania and Me. The Justice Department filed a civil suit against Winston Wolkoff in October 2019, alleging breach of a nondisclosure agreement, but it was dropped in February 2021 under the Biden administration. In September 2022, Melania said in an interview with Breitbart News that the audiotapes had been strategically edited to make people believe that her duties in the White House had been unimportant to her.
  
  Despite Donald's loss of the 2020 election, Melania ended her tenure by endorsing his false statement that he had been the legitimate election winner. For her final months in the White House, she stopped visiting her office in the East Wing and remained in the White House residence. Her focus at this time was on compiling photo albums of the decorations and renovations she had overseen through her tenure. Melania was managing photography at the White House when the January 6 United States Capitol attack took place and gave no comment at the time. She later said that she would have commented if she had been "fully informed of all the details". Her communications director Stephanie Grisham later stated she had sent Melania a text message asking her to make a statement condemning the violence and resigned when that did not happen. On January 18, Melania released a farewell video asking the American people to uphold the principles of her Be Best campaign. She did not contact incoming first lady Jill Biden to make transition arrangements or provide her the traditional tour of the White House. She did, however, follow the tradition of leaving a letter for the incoming first lady.