President Donald Trump took some not-so-subtle swipes at his predecessors with new plaques below their portraits in the new White House Presidential Walk of Fame.

Former President Joe Biden had already been mocked in the installation, which was unveiled in September, when Trump used a photo of an autopen to represent the 46th president. Now, there are two plaques that include Trump’s nicknames for Biden.

‘Sleepy Joe Biden was, by far, the worst President in American History,’ the top plaque states. ‘Biden oversaw a series of unprecedented disasters that brought our Nation to the brink of destruction. His policies caused the highest Inflation ever recorded, leading the U.S. Dollar to lose more than 20% of its value in 4 years.’

‘Nicknamed both ‘Sleepy’ and ‘Crooked,’ Joe Biden was dominated by his Radical Left handlers. They and their allies in the Fake News Media attempted to cover up his severe mental decline, and his unprecedented use of the Autopen,’ the second plaque reads. ‘Following his humiliating debate loss to President Trump in the big June 2024 debate, he was forced to withdraw from his campaign for re-election in disgrace.’

Trump also took jabs at former President Barack Obama, calling him ‘one of the most divisive political figures in American History.’

‘As President, he passed the highly ineffective ‘Unaffordable’ Care Act, resulting in his party losing control of both Houses of Congress, and the Election of the largest House Republican majority since 1946,’ the first of two plaques says.

‘Obama also spied on the 2016 Presidential Campaign of Donald J. Trump, and presided over the creation of the Russia, Russia Hoax, the worst political scandal in American History,’ the second plaque reads. ‘His handpicked successor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, would then lose the Presidency to Donald J. Trump.’

Despite not ever being president, and therefore not being pictured in the walk of fame, Hillary Clinton is referenced more than once.

Beneath the picture of former President Bill Clinton, a plaque says, ‘In 2016, President Clinton’s wife, Hillary Clinton, lost the Presidency to President Donald J. Trump!’

In November, Trump gave Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham a tour of the walk of fame and told her that ‘beautiful bronze plaques’ were going to be installed. He said the plaques would describe the presidents but did not tease the political jabs written on them.

President Donald Trump and participated in the dignified transfer for two members of the Iowa National Guard who were killed in Syria this weekend.

The Wednesday transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware saw the return of Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, return to U.S. soil. The two men were killed in an ambush by an ISIS gunman. Their interpreter, U.S. civilian Ayad Mansoor Sakat, was also killed, and his case was also brought home on Wednesday.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth also attended the transfer. First lady Melania Trump was scheduled to attend the event, but she was ultimately unable to participate.

‘The dignified transfer is not a ceremony; rather, it is a solemn movement of the transfer case by a carry team composed of military personnel from the fallen member’s respective service,’ Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations reads. ‘A dignified transfer is conducted for every U.S. military member who dies in the theater of operation while in the service of their country.’

Wednesday’s event was the first dignified transfer Trump has attended since returning to office in January.

Torres-Tovar and Howard were assigned to 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division of the Iowa National Guard.

 Meskwaki Nation Police Chief Jeffrey Bunn had identified his son Nate as one of the U.S. service members who was killed in the attack in a Sunday Facebook post.

‘My wife Misty and I had that visit from Army Commanders you never want to have. Our son Nate was one of the Soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, to keep us all safer. He loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out, no one left behind. Please pray for our soldiers all around this cruel world. We will see you again son, until then we have i[t] from here,’ Bunn wrote.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Saturday that two Army soldiers and one civilian U.S. interpreter were killed, and three were wounded during the attack.

The service members had been conducting a key leader engagement with local partners in support of ongoing counter-ISIS operations when the attacker opened fire.

A Pentagon official told Fox News Digital the attack occurred in an area outside the control of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and that initial assessments indicate it was likely carried out by ISIS.

Fox News’ Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.

Senate Republicans blocked an attempt by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., to force the release of unedited footage to Congress and the public of the U.S. military’s controversial Sept. 2 double-tap strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.

Schiff’s move Wednesday afternoon followed passage of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included a provision to require the Pentagon to release all unedited footage of the strikes in the Caribbean to Congress in exchange for full funding of the Department of War’s travel expenses.

His bill went a step further and was specifically geared toward the early September double strike against an alleged drug boat that has divided lawmakers in recent weeks, particularly over whether the strikes were legal.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed every senator on the strikes Tuesday, but Senate Democrats left unsatisfied because they weren’t shown the footage of the strikes. Hegseth argued that the Pentagon has a longstanding policy to not release unedited, top-secret footage.

‘The public should see this, and I hope that we’ll have support to make it public,’ Schiff said after the meeting. ‘I found the legal explanations and the strategic explanations incoherent, but I think the American people should see this video. And all members of Congress should have that opportunity. I certainly want it for myself.’

But the push was blocked by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who argued on the floor that Schiff’s motives may have been politically influenced and that when former President Barack Obama used drones during his administration, there wasn’t near the same level of hand-wringing. 

Schiff’s legislation would have given Hegseth 10 days to make the unedited footage available to all members of Congress and 15 days to fully release the footage to the public.

Broadly, Senate Republicans support the release of the footage, either directly to the Senate Armed Services or Senate Intelligence committees, but some have stopped short of demanding a wide rollout.

Mullin argued that only certain lawmakers should get access to the footage who are on the proper committees and who have the necessary security clearances to view it.

‘There’s a lot of members that are going to walk out of there, that are going to leak classified information, and there’s got to be certain ones that you hold accountable. So, not everybody can go through the same background checks that need to be able to get cleared on this,’ he said.

But there is still a desire among the GOP for all of Congress and the public to see the footage.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., contended that the administration has released every other video related to the strikes and that ‘they brag about killing these people, unarmed people.’

‘They brag about how mighty they are and how powerful they are, and they show us the clips almost instantaneously when they blow people up,’ he said. ‘They don’t want to show the image of blowing up people clinging to wreckage, destroying their entire narrative.’

A doctor-turned-House Republican is arguing that there is a direct link between the Affordable Care Act (ACA), colloquially known as Obamacare, and the increasing cost of healthcare putting a strain on Americans’ wallets.

‘They removed choice by patients by limiting and prohibiting association health plans, so small businesses were disadvantaged,’ said Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa. 

‘They had mandates for how the rating for insurance companies can go — they had mandated essential benefits, so people that are young and healthy and may not want a lot of healthcare, they just want it for catastrophic, couldn’t get just catastrophic coverage, so there was no choice in what benefits you had.’

Miller-Meeks said it led to people having to pay for their health premiums but not being able to afford the deductible to actually go see a doctor — in other words, ‘You can have insurance, but not care.’

She said costs were also driven up by ‘simple things such as prohibiting doctors from doing things in their office, but paying a hospital more, which led to the development of hospital outpatient clinics.’

‘Well, they paid the hospitals more to do it, so you weren’t having [a simple procedure] done at a doctor’s office…it was done at the hospital. So there are many things within the unaffordable care act that drove up healthcare costs,’ she explained.

Miller-Meeks is leading the House GOP’s ‘Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act,’ a bill that House Republican leaders say is aimed at lowering healthcare costs for a broader swath of the country than simply extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year.

It’s set to be voted on in the early evening on Wednesday, when it’s expected to pass roughly along party lines.

The plan as-is includes provisions to codify association health plans, which allow small businesses and people who are self-employed to band together to purchase healthcare coverage plans, giving them access to greater bargaining power.

Republicans also plan to appropriate funding for cost-sharing reductions beginning in 2027, which are designed to lower out-of-pocket medical costs in the individual healthcare market. House GOP leadership aides said it would bring down the cost of premiums by 12%.

New transparency requirements for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are also in the legislation, aimed at forcing PBMs to be more upfront about costs to employers.

PBMs are third parties that act as intermediaries between pharmaceutical companies and those responsible for insurance coverage, often responsible for administrative tasks and negotiating drug prices.

‘What’s important about this bill is that Republicans want to reduce healthcare costs for everyone, for all people, not just a select few. And we certainly don’t want to continue the corporate gravy train of subsidies to insurance companies, which then have no incentive to lower premiums,’ Miller-Meeks said.

She said its various facets ‘will reduce premiums by 11%.’

‘So it gives patients more choice, it allows more flexibility in what kind of insurance coverage they have, but most importantly, it’s the first bill to actually bring down premiums,’ Miller-Meeks said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia’s goals in Ukraine are unchanged and will be accomplished either through negotiations or by further military advances if diplomatic efforts fail.

Putin, speaking at an annual board meeting of the country’s Defense Ministry, touted Russia’s military progress on the battlefield and technological advancements as his war in Ukraine grinds on into a fourth year.

‘The goals of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved,’ he said, using the Kremlin’s term to refer to Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion.

‘We would prefer to accomplish this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomatic means. However, if the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means,’ the Russian leader told military officials, according to a transcript of the speech released by the government.

Putin also took aim at Kyiv and its European allies for ‘whipping up hysteria’ about Moscow as the Trump administration works to end the war. 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned allies last week that Russia could be ready to use military force against the alliance within five years and urged members to boost defense spending and production, so their armed forces have the resources to protect their homelands.

Putin referred to European leaders as ‘piglets’ during the Defense Ministry meeting, according to a translated video of the remarks posted by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

The comment was part of a broader tirade against the West, with Putin accusing European governments of helping Washington try to weaken and divide Russia.

‘They were hoping to profit from the collapse of our country. To get back something that was lost in previous historical periods and try to take revenge,’ said Putin. ‘As it has now become obvious to everyone, all these attempts and all these destructive plans towards Russia completely failed.’

The remarks come as U.S., European, Russian and Ukrainian officials engage in a flurry of diplomacy over potential paths to ending the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his negotiating team met in Berlin Sunday with Jared Kushner and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.

Witkoff and Kushner previously held a five-hour meeting in Moscow with Putin and top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov in early December to hash out elements of a revised peace proposal after the original leaked 28-point draft drew criticism for being too favorable to the Kremlin.

Ushakov said the Russian side received four documents from the U.S. envoys during the meeting, including one that consisted of 27 points, but he declined to go into detail of what they contained.

The Senate sent a colossal defense package to President Donald Trump’s desk on Wednesday, checking off one of the last remaining items of the year in the process.

Lawmakers banded together to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a roughly $901 billion package crammed to the brim with defense policy that unlocks funding for several of the Trump administration’s national defense priorities.

The measure passed through the upper chamber on a 77-20 bipartisan vote. It’s a perennial legislative exercise lawmakers undertake, and one that normally comes and goes with little fuss, given that Congress typically bookends the year with it.

But this year, the NDAA hit some snags in the House that threatened its survival. And while the drama was not as fiery in the Senate, there were still lingering issues with certain provisions that gave lawmakers heartburn.

Bipartisan frustration erupted over a provision that would roll back some safety standards in the Washington, D.C., airspace. It comes on the heels of the collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport earlier this year that killed 67 people.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sought an amendment to the package that would have stripped the provision and instead included his ROTOR Act that would mandate technology in aircraft to boost awareness of air traffic.

But any amendment to the package would have sent it back to the House. Cruz instead plans to tack on his legislation to spending bills down the line.

‘I’m seeking a vote on the ROTOR Act as part of any appropriations measure before the current continuing resolution expires at the end of next month,’ Cruz said.

Other provisions, like a requirement for the Pentagon to release the unedited footage of boat strikes in the Caribbean in exchange for fully funding the Department of War’s travel fund, raised eyebrows but didn’t slow down the package’s success.

That provision comes as lawmakers demand more transparency in the Trump administration’s strikes against alleged drug boats, and in particular, as they seek the release of the footage from a Sept. 2 double-strike on a vessel.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed all senators on the strikes this week. Senate Republicans left largely satisfied, while Senate Democrats charged that Hegseth wouldn’t show the unedited footage to every lawmaker in the upper chamber.

‘He refused,’ Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. ‘The administration came to this briefing empty-handed. That’s the major question that we face, and if they can’t be transparent on this, how can you trust their transparency on all the other issues swirling about in the Caribbean.’

Still, the package is filled with several provisions that both sides agree to, including guarantees for Ukrainian assistance, and repeals of the 1991 and 2002 authorizations of use of military force (AUMFs) for the Gulf War and Iraq War, respectively, among several others.

With the NDAA now headed for Trump’s signature, the Senate still has more on its agenda before fleeing Washington until the new year.

Senate Republicans want to ram through nearly 100 of Trump’s nominees, and both sides are eyeing a five-bill spending package that could alleviate some concerns heading into the looming Jan. 30 deadline to fund the government.

‘This defense authorization act, although it doesn’t have as much in there for defense as a lot of us would like, is a step in the right direction,’ Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. ‘And I think the defense appropriations bill, which hopefully we’ll vote on later this week, is another example of the investment that we need to be making, to ensure that in a dangerous world, we are prepared to defend America and American interests.’

Four moderate House Republicans are rebelling against Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to join his Democratic counterpart in forcing a vote on enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of this year.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., all joined a discharge petition by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on his push for a three-year extension of the subsidies.

A discharge petition is a mechanism for overriding the will of House leaders to get a chamber-wide vote on specific legislation, provided it has support from a majority of lawmakers.

In this case, the four House Republicans’ signatures put Jeffries’ petition at 218 — clinching the critical majority threshold.

‘I’ve always supported bipartisan solutions that would bring about healthcare affordability in this country,’ Mackenzie told Fox News Digital on Wednesday of his decision. ‘Leader Jeffries and the Democrats have refused to sign onto either of those bipartisan solutions. And so at this point, our leadership is not calling up a bill to extend the [Obamacare] tax credits.’

He called for a vote on the Democrat-led solution as well as two bipartisan bills offering one and two-year extensions, respectively, with reforms.

It comes despite Johnson warning Republicans earlier on Wednesday not to support Jeffries’ petition, arguing it was not the best way to legislate.

Johnson told CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ that it was effectively ‘doing an end-run around the majority party, the speaker or the regular process is not the best way to make law.’

The House is expected to vote on a bill that Republicans say is aimed at lowering healthcare costs for all Americans, without extending the subsidies — which they argue are part of a deeply flawed public healthcare system.

Moderate Republicans offered several amendments to the legislation aimed at extending the Obamacare subsidies during a House Rules Committee meeting to advance the bill on Tuesday, but all were rejected by their fellow GOP lawmakers on the panel.

‘While I have been working for a bipartisan compromise with reforms, the failure of leadership to allow a vote on the floor left me with no choice but to sign the Democrats’ discharge petition,’ Lawler said in a statement on X.

‘The speaker should immediately bring it to the floor for an up-or-down vote and let the House do the work of the American people.’

Because of the timing constraints of a discharge petition, the earliest the House could consider the Jeffries bill would be early next year.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., one of the few Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump in 2021, announced on Wednesday that he will not seek re-election in 2026.

‘This decision comes with no reservations or remorse, only gratitude for the tremendous opportunity to have represented my home state in Congress,’ Newhouse wrote in a statement.

‘After over 25 years of public service, including more than a decade in the House, I am grateful to the Washingtonians who put their faith in me, as well as the colleagues I have served with on both sides of the aisle,’ he added.

Newhouse’s upcoming departure means that Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., could be the only remaining House Republican who voted in favor of Trump’s impeachment in 2021, if Valadao wins re-election.

Newhouse was one of 10 House Republicans who supported the impeachment effort. In addition to Valadao, the others were Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming; Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio; Jaime Herrera-Beutler of Washington; John Katko of New York; Adam Kinzinger of Illinois; Peter Meijer of Michigan; Tom Rice of South Carolina, and Fred Upton of Michigan.

The latter eight have since left Congress.

Newhouse won re-election in 2024 despite Trump making an effort to oust him.

‘Newhouse has to go! He wished he didn’t do what he did, but it’s too late,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform just a week before Election Day.

Trump also emphasized his support for Newhouse’s rival. ‘Jerrod Sessler is a fantastic Candidate and will be a GREAT Congressman for Washington State’s 4th Congressional District.’

‘He is running against a Weak and Pathetic RINO named Newhouse, who voted to, for no reason, Impeach me,’ Trump wrote at the time.

Sessler, a Navy veteran, unsuccessfully challenged Newhouse for Washington’s 4th Congressional District. In addition to Trump, he was also backed by the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.

At the time, Newhouse argued his vote to impeach Trump wouldn’t be a problem.

‘I worked very closely and successfully with President Trump and his first administration and I feel very confident that I can do that again,’ he told the Yakima Herald-Republic.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Gutting the filibuster was once a taboo notion among Senate Republicans, but the idea is gaining traction thanks to President Donald Trump’s repeated calls to throw out the longstanding procedure.

The Senate filibuster is the 60-vote threshold that applies to most bills in the upper chamber, and given the nature of the thin majorities that either party has commanded in recent years, that means legislation typically has to be bipartisan to advance.

It proved a key barrier to reopening the government and advancing several other Republican priorities in recent weeks, like the GOP’s Obamacare fix that was torpedoed by Senate Democrats.

For years, it’s been viewed as a tool of the minority party in the Senate meant to prevent majorities from ramming through partisan legislation that both Republicans and Democrats have taken advantage of.

But near-monthly prodding from Trump and recent frustration with the 43-day government shutdown has some Republicans rethinking their position on the filibuster.

‘It’s something I’m giving serious consideration to now,’ Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital.

Marshall previously told Fox News Digital, ‘Never, never, ever, never, none,’ when asked if he would consider changing the rules after Trump called on Republicans to nuke the filibuster in October.

Just a few months later, Marshall is reconsidering his position.

‘I think between the last government shutdown and the threat of this one, it makes me pause,’ he said. ‘It seems like the appropriations process is being slowed down. It feels like, with healthcare, that the Democrats, really the Democratic Party, doesn’t want to get anything done. So eliminating the filibuster ends all that.’

He echoed Trump, who on Monday told reporters that he wanted Senate Republicans to ‘knock out’ the filibuster.

‘You wouldn’t have January 30th looming, because you have the 30th of January looming, you know that, right? And if we knocked out the filibuster it would be just a simple approval,’ he said. ‘But you have some Republicans — they’re unable to explain why, you know if you ask them why they’re unable to explain, they cannot win the debate, but they should knock out the filibuster.’

The likelihood that such a change crosses the floor in the Senate is low, given that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has routinely remained rooted in his position that the filibuster shouldn’t be touched.

Still, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., a member of Thune’s leadership team, said that his position had also changed on the filibuster.

Mullin told Fox News’ Will Cain that during a recent meeting with Senate GOP leadership, he asked the room if they truly believed that Senate Democrats wouldn’t try to get rid of the procedural safeguard when they regained a majority again.

‘If we believe that they’re going to do it, then why don’t we just go ahead and get it done,’ he said.

Other Republicans are more skeptical about the odds of the filibuster getting axed. Some, like Mullin, think it could be narrowly tailored to only apply to spending bills, while others see the move as fantasy. 

‘That’s not gonna happen,’ Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital.

And Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said that lawmakers weren’t even ‘using the tools we have right now’ to pass Republicans’ agenda.

Kennedy has pushed for another round of budget reconciliation, given that Republicans have two more attempts at the grueling process, to tackle the growing affordability issues in the country.

He argued that’s how Republicans passed Trump’s signature legislation, the ‘one, big beautiful bill,’ earlier this year.

‘Yes, you can’t do everything, but you can do a lot, and that’s what I would be concentrating my energies on,’ Kennedy said. ‘And I’ve said respectfully to the president that I don’t think the United States Senate is going to give up the filibuster or the blue slip. He obviously disagrees, and I respect that reasonable people disagree sometimes, but I’m a pragmatist. I deal with the world as it is, not as I want it to be.’

First lady Melania Trump is giving Fox News an exclusive first look at her upcoming film, ‘MELANIA,’ set to hit theaters worldwide next month.

The 104-minute film is set to hit theaters globally on Jan. 30, 2026, appearing in theaters across North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and more. Amazon will also launch a documentary series in the coming months. 

‘History is set in motion during the 20 days of my life prior to the U.S. Presidential Inauguration,’ the first lady told Fox News. ‘For the first time, global audiences are invited into theaters to witness this pivotal chapter unfold—a private, unfiltered look as I navigate family, business, and philanthropy on my remarkable journey to becoming First Lady of the United States of America.’

Fox News exclusively obtained the trailer, which opens with the first lady walking into the U.S. Capitol rotunda ahead of her husband’s second inauguration. She looks to the camera in her now-iconic inauguration outfit, and says: ‘Here we go again.’

The trailer jumps from the first lady and president at the inauguration; to standing together outside of Mar-a-Lago; behind-the-scenes of the inauguration showing Baron Trump and Mrs. Trump’s father; to a series of images of the first lady; Air Force One; the presidential seal and more.

The infamous Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) lion roars and takes over the screen. 

The trailer then shows Mrs. Trump entering a room where President Trump stands at a podium during a meeting and is rehearsing a speech.

‘My proudest legacy will be that of peacemaker,’ Trump said. 

The first lady breaks in and says: ‘Peacemaker and unifier.’ 

The trailer shows the first lady getting out of a vehicle, sporting a pair of black stiletto boots, and jumping to the East Wing residence, where she stands in her stunning white and black inaugural ball gown, and smiles at the camera. 

The trailer invites the audience to ‘witness history in the making.’ 

The trailer also shows the first lady reviewing materials with staff and more. 

It cuts to a scene of Mrs. Trump asking a security detail ‘is it safe?’ and the agent confirming ‘it is safe,’ before the film cuts to sirens and the motorcade driving through a city. 

’20 days to become first lady of the United States,’ the trailer says. 

‘Everyone wants to know,’ Melania Trump says. ‘So here it is.’ 

The trailer ends with Mrs. Trump calling ‘Mr. President’ to say ‘congratulations.’ 

‘Did you watch it?’ President Trump says through the phone. 

‘I did not.  Yeah, I will see it on the news,’ Mrs. Trump says. 

The film is set to hit theaters around the globe on January 30. 

The first lady said that the story ‘has never been told, and because the subject matter is historically consequential, it was imperative for me to produce a film of the highest cinematic standard, suitable exclusively in theaters worldwide.’

‘The 20 days of my life, preceding the U.S. Presidential inauguration, constitutes a rare and defining moment—one that warrants meticulous care, integrity, and uncompromising craftsmanship,’ she said. ‘I am proud to share this very specific moment of my life—20 days of intense transition and planning—with moviegoers and fans across the globe.’

Fox News Digital has learned that the first lady was involved ‘in every aspect’ of the film — from her ‘creative vision,’ to working as a producer on the film and to ensuring the post-production marketing is executed properly. Fox News Digital has learned that the first lady has been very ‘hands on’ from start to finish. 

‘She is giving the audience unprecedented access to her life — and to any first lady’s life — during this 20-day period,’ a source familiar with the planning of the film told Fox News Digital. 

The film takes the audience through the first lady’s life leading up to the inauguration — from her home in Trump Tower in New York City, to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, and behind-the-scenes access in Washington D.C. 

Mrs. Trump first had the idea for the film in November 2024, after President Trump won the election. 

Marc Beckman, Mrs. Trump’s agent and exclusive senior advisor, led negotiations on her behalf with Amazon, specifically with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, beginning on Nov. 18, 2024. 

Fox News Digital has learned that Disney sought to obtain the exclusive rights to the film, as well as Netflix and Paramount. Amazon and MGM had the highest bid, purchasing the license for the film for $40 million — the largest documentary deal in history.

‘I’m honored to be working with Amazon — they’ve been great partners from the minute we started to negotiate the deal, through production and now as we gear up for the film’s release,’ Beckman told Fox News Digital.

‘Speaking of the deal, there has been so much speculation in the press on the bidding and how we ended up with Amazon, that we’re at a point where it’s worth clarifying a few things,’ Beckman said.

First, Beckman told Fox News Digital that some bidders were ‘interested only in a film, and others only in a series.’

‘Amazon ended up bidding on both, and checked all the boxes we were looking for, as they could also deliver a theatrical film release,’ Beckman explained.

Beckman stressed that he negotiated the deal on behalf of the first lady while dealing with ‘all the studios directly.’

‘I’ve seen reporting that Amazon paid nearly three times the nearest other bid, and that’s just false,’ Beckman said. ‘It was an incredibly competitive bidding process with multiple rounds of bids.’

Beckman added: ‘Yes, Amazon had the highest bid, but they also bid on the most product — series and film.’

Filming began in December 2024. The film is executive produced by Trump and Fernando Sulichin of New Element Media, with Brett Ratner of RatPac Entertainment serving as director. 

The film itself is produced in a ‘highly cinematic’ way. Sources familiar with the production told Fox News Digital that the first lady did not want the film to look like a documentary, but rather an ‘elevated film.’ 

The launch of the film comes a year after the release of her first-ever book, ‘Melania.’ The memoir presents an intimate portrait of Melania Trump and includes personal stories and family photos she had not previously shared with the public. 

‘Melania’ has been at the top of the New York Times’ best-selling list since its release to the public. 

Upon the release of the memoir last year, the first lady told Fox News Digital that writing her story was ‘an amazing journey filled with emotional highs and lows.’

‘Each story shaped me into who I am today,’ she said. ‘Although daunting at times, the process has been incredibly rewarding, reminding me of my strength, and the beauty of sharing my truth.’ 

‘Melania’ is the first lady’s first book. She released the original book along with a special collector’s edition that includes photos hand-selected by the first lady, many of which she photographed herself of her home and of various trips she has taken around the world.