Global Leaders’ Spouses See an Opening for Influence With Melania Trump

Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan is the latest spouse to publicly recognize Mrs. Trump’s sway.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan in the Oval Office of the White House on November 13, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The letter campaigns pleading for the plight of children caught in two conflicts—the Russian-led war in Ukraine and the Israeli offensive in Gaza—continued when authorities in Ankara confirmed with Reuters Saturday that Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan has written to First Lady Melania Trump urging her to contact Israel’s prime minister and raise concerns about the children suffering in Gaza.

Emine Erdogan wrote she was inspired by the letter Mrs. Trump wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, Reuters reported, urging Putin to consider the children caught in the conflict and that he could “singlehandedly” end it.

“I have faith that the important sensitivity you have shown for the 648 Ukrainian children ... will be extended to Gaza as well,…