‘Melania’ Documentary Will Debut at Kennedy Center This Month
The announcement comes amid a string of artists and performance companies canceling their scheduled appearances at the center.
First Lady Melania Trump’s anticipated documentary “Melania” will be previewed at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the day before its global debut.
The announcement was made on Thursday by Kennedy Center interim President Richard Grenell on social media and comes at a time when more than a dozen artists and performance companies have canceled their scheduled appearances after the Kennedy Center’s board voted to rename the center “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” It requires approval by Congress for the name to change.
“The premier of ‘Melania’ the movie will be January 29 at the Trump Kennedy Center,” Grenell posted with a link to the trailer.
On Friday, it was announced that the Washington National Opera is leaving the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The opera company made the center its home since 1971. According to NPR, it “stressed the ‘amicability’ of its decision to end its longtime residency at the Kennedy Center. But it said the center’s new business model, which requires productions to be fully-funded in advance, is incompatible with the usual mix of ticket sales, grants and donations that cannot all be secured ahead.”
Former Radio Journalist Who ‘Lived’ and ‘Breathed’ First Ladies Dies
Paulette Brinka, a dedicated journalist and history buff, spent her professional life working as a Long Island, New York, radio anchor and reporter and, later, focused on the captivating lives of America’s first ladies. Brinka died on Dec. 28 after battling cancer. She was 76.
Brinka, in 1974, married fellow broadcast journalist Frank Brinka. The two worked together at Patchogue’s WALK-AM and FM, where he served as news director from 1976 to 1988. At various times Paulette Brinka contributed to WNEW, WCBS and radio network, and wrote for The Suffolk County News. In the early 1990s she became a Brookhaven public official, and in 1997 a leader in the Brookhaven chapter of the women’s employment-support nonprofit Dress for Success. She later taught communication and rhetoric in college at several universities and community colleges, according to an obituary written of Brinka.
A lover of history, “She became a first ladies scholar,” said her friend and one-time newsroom boss Susan Murphy in her obituary. “She lived, breathed, ate, drank and slept first ladies.”
She also was an active, inaugural lifetime member of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education where she participated in several FLARE programs including one on first ladies on the campaign trail.
Brinka referred to First Ladies Studies as her guilty pleasure, a topic she found endlessly compelling, according to a tribute to Brinka on the FLARE website. At one point, Brinka interviewed former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. Among her favorite first ladies was Lucretia Garfield, wife of James A. Garfield, who served as president for only six months in 1881 before he died of an infection as a result of gunshot wounds.
“For three years, she was responsible for keeping the ‘First Ladies in the News’ feature on the website updated,” said Diana Carlin, president of FLARE, in a statement to the nonprofit’s membership. “I know those of you who have worked with and knew Paulette will miss her as I will.”
Calendar
Jan. 13, 2026
White House History Live: The Mother of Washington
The White House Historical Association’s Facebook Live series, White House History Live, on Jan. 13, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. EST, features historian and author Kate Haulman who will discuss her new book, The Mother of Washington in Nineteenth-Century America. In her book she explores the role of motherhood in the commemoration of the American Revolution by tracing the creation and evolution of the Mother of Washington figure. Then as now, groups used the past to construct American motherhood and to engage with the founding past. The Mother of Washington offers fresh arguments about gender, race, and the politics of Revolutionary history and memory still contested 250 years later. View here
Jan. 15, 2026
Third Thursday: Wine & Cheese – Ohio’s Firsts & Originals
Sip, savor, and celebrate Ohio’s legacy of leadership when the Nation First Ladies Library & Museum presents on January 15 at 6:30 p.m. EST its first in-person Third Thursday event of 2026 as it explores the stories and artifacts of seven remarkable first ladies who called Ohio home—Anna Harrison, Lucy Hayes, Lucretia Garfield, Caroline Harrison, Ida McKinley, Helen Taft, and Florence Harding. Read more
Jan. 28, 2026
FLARE Virtual Program: A Tour of the Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace & Museum
The First Ladies Association for Research and Education presents the virtual program “A Tour of the Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace & Museum from 7 to 9 p.m. EST on Jan. 28. The program will showcase the Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace and Museum in Wytheville, Virginia. View here
Jan. 29, 2026
A Taste of History: Social Diplomacy through Food and Wine
The People’s House: A White House Experience presents an in-person evening of culture, conversation, and history in “A Taste of History: Social Diplomacy Through Food and Wine” at 6:30 p.m. EST on January 29, 2026. Enjoy a taste of thoughtfully selected wines paired with delicious small bites, all inspired by the rich culinary traditions of the White House. This guided tasting is a perfect night out for wine lovers, history buffs, and anyone looking for a unique experience. Read more
Feb. 6, 2026
Legacy Lecture: An Unlikely Friendship – The Story of Two First Ladies
Explore the extraordinary 40-year friendship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune, the “First Lady of the Struggle.” The women shared a remarkable 40-year friendship built on mutual respect and a shared vision for equality. Together, they championed civil rights, education, and social justice during some of the most challenging decades in American history. Read more
Feb. 27, 2026
Jackie & Monte – A Legacy of Style
Join television personality Monte Durham as he honors the timeless elegance of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The National First Ladies Library & Museum invites guests to “Jackie & Monte – A Legacy of Style.” This evening, hosted by beloved fashion director and television personality Monte Durham honors the timeless elegance of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, a woman whose influence on fashion and culture still inspires the world today. This exclusive event will be held at the luxurious Zazu Salon, located at 445 5th Avenue South, Unit 205 in Naples, Florida, on February 27, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. local time. Tickets are $125 per guest and can be reserved here.
The Weekly Wrap
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Business Insider
The Secret Service Code Names Used By 12 Presidents and First Ladies — and the Stories Behind Them
Jan. 9, 2026 – Secret Service code names, which Secret Service agents use when communicating about the security of the first family, are among the worst-kept secrets in Washington. Read more
East Wing Magazine
East Wing Ballroom Pitch Now Includes a West Wing Addition
Jan. 8, 2026 – The first presentation of reconstruction plans of White House East Wing on Thursday showed a ballroom that could seat 1,000 people, an office suite for the first lady plus other newly proposed improvements on the campus including a one-story addition to the West Wing colonnade to address “symmetry” concerns from the aesthetics of the proposed oversized ballroom in relation to the historic residence. Read more
The Hill
Hillary Clinton on ICE Shooting: ‘They Want to Mold America to Their Cruelty’
Jan. 8, 2026 – Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned Wednesday’s fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Macklin Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis and praised the community response in the hours that followed. Read more
USA Today
‘I Did Become President.’ Trump Defends Mimicry, Dancing to First Lady
Jan. 6, 2026 – President Donald Trump confided that first lady Melania Trump doesn’t always like his campaign moves. Read more