STORY: With tensions in Minneapolis still high and a possible U.S. military strike on Iran looming, movers and shakers in the Trump administration took a timeout on Thursday (January 29) to attend a lavish event celebrating a big-budget documentary about first lady Melania Trump.

The movie, “Melania,” was financed at an eyebrow-raising $75 million by Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon’s chairman, Jeff Bezos, also contributed to President Donald Trump’s inaugural fund earlier this year.

Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million to license the film and a related docuseries, which is scheduled to be released later this year on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service. The first lady is one of the producers of the film, which documents the 20 days leading up to Trump’s 2025 inauguration and the family’s return to the White House.

The studio spent another $35 million promoting and distributing the movie, which will be available in about 25 territories outside North America, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The film offers rare access to the deeply private, enigmatic first lady, who has kept a low public profile during her husband’s second term.

The trailer opens on Inauguration Day in January 2025, showing her donning a navy wide-brimmed hat for the ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. It also depicts her role as an adviser to the president, including a moment in which she encourages him to emphasize “peacemaker and unifier” in his inaugural address.

The film’s premiere was attended by top Trump administration officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

They strode upon a black – not red – carpet in front of a large backdrop emblazoned with the word “MELANIA” in black-and-white letters as flashbulbs popped.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: TRUMPS AT RED CARPET PREMIERE, SOUNDBITES FROM TRUMPS, TRAILER FOR 'MELANIA' DOCUMENTARY, SOUNDBITE FROM DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER BRETT RATNER, SOUNDBITE FROM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE STORY

SHOWS: VARIOUS FILMING LOCATIONS (FILE) (AMAZON MGM STUDIOS - Broadcast: Must courtesy Amazon MGM Studios. Editorial news use only, no commercial use. No archive, no resales. Digital: Must courtesy Amazon MGM Studios. Editorial news use only, no commercial use. No monetisation on social platforms. No archive, no resales.)

1. TRAILER OF "MELANIA", FEATURING U.S. FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JANUARY 29, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

2. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AND FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP ON BLACK CARPET /

(SOUNDBITE) (English) FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP, SAYING:

JOURNALIST (OFF CAMERA): "What's your favourite part of the film?"

MELANIA TRUMP: "It's very hard to choose. There are many scenes, people will connect. You will see humor, you will see grief, you will see fashion. I'm very proud of the film, it's not easy to do this, it's not an easy task."

3. TRUMPS BEFORE MEDIA

4. MELANIA TRUMP SPEAKING TO MEDIA

5. MELANIA TRUMP STANDING NEXT TO DONALD TRUMP AS HE SPEAKS TO MEDIA

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"I think it's going to be, I think it's a very important movie. I think it's really going to be very important. It shows life in the White House. It's a big deal, actually."

7. WHITE FLASH

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"Good chances, could be some bipartisan support."

JOURNALIST (OFF CAMERA): "So it's not going to shut down?"

TRUMP: "I don't know. It's right now in the process."

JOURNALIST (OFF CAMERA): "Are you making progress with Senator Schumer on the DHS element?"

TRUMP: "I have a very good relationship over the last couple of days with Senator Schumer. We've gotten along very well. We're working on trying to get it to stay open and we'll see what happens. It's in the process."

9. WHITE FLASH

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

JOURNALIST (OFF CAMERA): "Will you be pulling back immigration enforcement agents out of Minnesota?"

TRUMP: "We want to keep our country safe? We'll do whatever we can to keep our country safe."

JOURNALIST (OFF CAMERA): "So not pulling back?"

TRUMP: "No, not at all."

11. VARIOUS OF TRUMPS ON BLACK CARPET

12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER, BRETT RATNER, SAYING:

"This movie is one of the most expensive movies, documentaries in the genre ever made. So the movie's on the screen, it wasn't about getting rich. I mean, I think the Trumps are wealthy and successful enough. This is about giving me the ability to hire the best crew in the world to do the, you know, not only to score the film with the best composer, but actually the license, I mean, when you see the movie, you're going to see the songs on this. You go, 'oh, we see where the money went now'. So this wasn't about what you're saying, there's no corruption here. There's just, you know, we wanted to make, Melania only care about one thing, making a great movie for for audiences around the world."

13. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PETE HEGSETH ON BLACK CARPET

14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON, SAYING:

JOURNALIST (OFF CAMERA): "How confident are you that government funding will be funded tomorrow?"

JOHNSON: "At this moment, I'm not that confident, to be honest. I mean, the Senate is doing their thing tonight. I've got to make some tough decisions later this evening on how soon we can get House members back if indeed they send us the package. I wish that they had voted upon or would vote upon the 12 bills that we passed through our regular order process in a bipartisan fashion. It was quite an achievement. I urged my Senate colleagues to do that. And then let's have the discussion about Homeland Security and immigration enforcement after we funded the government. So we'll see what they do. I mean, the jury's still out."

15. SPECIAL ENVOY STEVE WITKOFF ON BLACK CARPET

VARIOUS FILMING LOCATIONS (FILE) (AMAZON MGM STUDIOS - Broadcast: Must courtesy Amazon MGM Studios. Editorial news use only, no commercial use. No archive, no resales. Digital: Must courtesy Amazon MGM Studios. Editorial news use only, no commercial use. No monetisation on social platforms. No archive, no resales.)

16. TRAILER OF "MELANIA", FEATURING U.S. FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP