Melania Trump broke protocol with one act no first lady has ever done before and people were not happy

Melania Trump once broke political protocol with one act that no first lady has ever done before, and it's safe to say that people were not happy.

Earlier this year, (19 May), US president Donald Trump signed into law the Take It Down Act - a bill which is particularly important to Melania, considering she had previously urged Congress to pass it back in March.

The bill in question has now made it a federal crime to 'knowingly publish' or threaten to publish sexual images without a person's consent, including AI-generated 'deepfakes' and 'revenge porn'.

Now, it's highly unusual for a first lady to add her signature to a bill, as she isn't an elected official, so her signature won't be legally effective.

Melania Trump added her signature to the Take It Down Act back in May - something which was a first lady first (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Still, Trump encouraged her to do so anyway - something which many social media users were far from pleased about.

One X user hit out: "Trump urged Melania, who holds no constitutional authority, to sign legislation during a White House ceremony."

In response, someone said: "Exactly my thoughts!"

"Why is Melania Trump signing legislation?" questioned a second. "Imagine the MAGA response if Dr. Jill Biden had done this."

Meanwhile, a third chimed in: "Just imagine if Joe Biden did something like this…"

Another asked whether her 'signature' even holds 'any validity', while a final X user echoed: "Omg!! They would be screaming… corruption if Jill did!"

Trump and Melania celebrated 200 days in office for the second time in eight years last Thursday (7 August) (Chip Somodevilla / Staff / Getty Images)

Last week (7 August), Trump and Melania celebrated 200 days in office for the second time in eight years.

Since officially returning to her post at the start of this year (20 January), Melania’s short time in the White House has seen her attend events such as the 250th anniversary Army parade in Washington and speak at the International Women of Courage Awards.

As well as attending the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final, Melania has been spotted at a showing of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Centre and paid her respects at Pope Francis’ funeral, where the US president faced backlash over his outfit.

According to Business Insider, the first lady has averaged one to three appearances at public White House events each month since her husband resumed office earlier this year.

In May, sources told The New York Times that Melania had actually ‘spent less than 14 days’ at the President’s Palace in the first 108 days of his second term.