One of the extra emotional moments in first lady Melania Trump’s new documentary comes when she meets Aviva Siegel, a former hostage held by Hamas who’s advocating for the discharge of her husband, in January 2025.
On Wednesday, Trump welcomed the couple to the White House, and informed observers that they might see extra of that assembly in her movie — a callout for the multimillion dollar project that’s alarming some advocates and ethics consultants, although there aren’t any guidelines barring her from selling it at the White House.
“It was emotional meeting, and it is captured on camera and available to see in my film, ‘Melania,’” Trump stated in remarks within the Blue Room at an event meant to have a good time the Siegels’ launch. (Keith Siegel, who was additionally captured by Hamas on October 7, 2023, was freed in February 2025.)
Asked by NCS whether or not she felt it was acceptable to make use of an official White House event to tout her movie, Trump stated Wednesday’s assembly got here at the Siegels’ request and was “not promotion.”
“This is not promotion. We are here celebrating the release of the hostages, of Aviva and Keith. They were in Washington, DC, and they called me. They said they would like to come over to thank me and to give hugs,” she stated.
“That’s why we are here. It has nothing to do with promotion.”
Earlier throughout Wednesday’s sit-down, Keith Siegel thanked Trump for the function he stated she performed in bringing him dwelling and mentioned his efforts to work in humanitarian help in Kenya as a part of his restoration course of. Then, he congratulated the primary woman on her new film.
“Looking forward to seeing it, and so grateful for you deciding to have Aviva be a part of your movie,” he stated.
Aviva Siegel thanked Trump “for putting me in your special ‘Melania’ film.”
The workplace of the primary woman and Trump’s non-public workplace didn’t reply to NCS’s request for touch upon whether or not she did any non-public outreach or advocacy on behalf of hostages captured by Hamas over the previous yr.
But for hostage advocates and ethics consultants, the concentrate on the movie on Wednesday was jarring.
“There’s gratitude for the role the administration played in bringing the hostages home, and, with an administration that has exploited aspects of the presidency for personal benefit, deep discomfort with that potentially happening here,” stated Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
Using the “role hostages played to promote a film,” she added, “obviously raises major concerns.”
It’s not unlawful for a sitting first woman to revenue from her place — Trump signed a roughly $40 million deal with Amazon MGM on the movie documenting the 20 days round her husband’s 2025 inauguration — neither is it unlawful for her to personally market it within the White House. (There are, nonetheless, guidelines prohibiting her employees from doing so.)
Still, ethics consultants questioned the optics of Trump utilizing a assembly at the White House to tout her movie.
“The White House is the representation of American government. This is paid for by taxpayers and is one of the symbols of public service. … When you see it being used as part of this business deal that’s bringing in millions of dollars for the first lady, it makes us and a lot of people uncomfortable,” stated Jordan Libowitz, spokesperson for CREW, or Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
He added: “It’s supposed to be above that. It’s a symbol of something greater, something beyond money making.”
The movie — which earned about $7 million at the box office in its opening weekend — has already confronted questions on political ethics and Amazon’s motivations for inking the multimillion greenback deal, which additionally included a large $35 million advertising funds.
“I’m not involved,” President Donald Trump informed reporters on the purple carpet final week when requested whether or not the movie constituted company corruption.
“That was done with my wife,” he stated.