Awkwardness peaked on the red carpet when reporters asked the president how he felt about Melania making the film, for which she was paid a reported $28 million.
Trump said he was proud of her and praised her origins—yet seemed unable to name her country of birth.
“She comes from a faraway country,” he said, describing it as “clean, beautiful, safe,” and “very good,” but never identifying it. He went on to compliment her intelligence and language skills, calling her “very smart” and “a good influencer” on him.
Viewers quickly noticed the slip, with many online commenting that the president appeared unsure where his wife is from.
Melania Trump, 55, was born in 1970 in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in what later became Slovenia after the d3ath of Josip Broz Tito and the breakup of the USSR-era bloc.
The region soon descended into years of conflict. Melania began modeling at 16 and moved to the United States in 1996 after landing a contract, later meeting Donald Trump two years after.
As the documentary rolls out globally from January 30, early indicators suggest the costly Amazon production may struggle at the box office. Still, Melania has defended the project, telling CNN that success isn’t measured by ticket sales.
“I’m very proud of the film,” she said. “People may like it or not—that’s their choice. We achieved what we wanted to achieve.”
