METAIRIE, LA — During his time as the chairman of the GOP in Louisiana, Roger Villere met every president as well as their wives. That includes First Lady Melania Trump, who Villere says is being treated unfairly by many of her critics.
Mrs. Trump has made anti-bullying a big part of her platform as first lady. She told ABC News that she is one of the most bullied people on the planet when you consider social media posts.
“It’s unfortunate,” Villere said of the bullying. “I think a lot of it has to do with her husband. But he fights back, and she’s not like that. So she tends to get beat up more because people figure they can get away with it.”
Villere has spent some time with Melania Trump a number of times, before and after her husband became president.
Villere says Melania Trump is very gracious and intelligent. But he says, when you first see her, you can’t help but notice how pretty she is.
“Melania was speaking to me. But I was just enjoying looking at her, to be honest with you, at the moment,” Villere said. “She was really nice. Afterward, some of the people that we were with, they asked me, ‘What did she ask you?’ I said, ‘I have no idea.’ ‘Well, what did you tell her?’ ‘I have no idea.’ I just enjoyed visiting with her.”
During his time in politics, Villere has met other first ladies like Nancy Reagan and Laura Bush. He says that when presidents come to town, they often spend much of their time in New Orleans in meetings, so he had the opportunity to have lengthy conversations with their wives.
As for Melania Trump, Villere says people should be proud of her work as first lady.
“She came here as an immigrant. She speaks five or six languages. She’s brilliant. I just don’t understand the bullying.”