It is fairly normal for immigrants to the U.S. to keep dual citizenships in both the U.S. and their country of origin. (Permit me, but I kept my Canadian citizenship, which looks like a smarter move by the day). It is not, however, normal to have a First Lady, and President’s son maintain citizenship in a foreign nation. (We presume Barron is Trump’s son, against all emotional evidence, we give them the benefit of the doubt…we kid, we kid.) But according to Mary Jordan’s book The Art of Her Deal, Melania and Barron do keep their dual citizenship.

One might be able to digest the news more easily had Melania not talked during the 2016 campaign about obtaining her U.S. citizenship as if she’d done something heroic through hard sacrifice. According to Jordan, Melania said that “as an immigrant, no one values the freedom and opportunity in America more than me.” So on the one hand, she talks about her U.S. citizenship as near essential to her freedom and independence, while on the other keeping very quiet about the fact that she refuses to give up her Slovenian citizenship. She also filed the required paperwork for Barron, because his Slovenian citizenship was not automatic. Barron is, of course, an American citizen, being an anchor baby and all. (That’s not quite true, his father is American, and so he isn’t technically what the Right calls an “anchor baby” but it feels right to throw some back at them given how awful they’ve been to most immigrants.)

But even weirder, both Barron and Melania keep Slovenian passports. Generally speaking, the U.S. only allows a person to hold one passport at a time, or at least only present their U.S. passport when leaving and entering the United States. Unlike citizenships, passports don’t really confer any special privileges, so it is highly odd to hold multiple passports, even a normal citizen, never mind two people living in the White House who fly in and out of the country on Air Force One.

Of course, it is well-known that very soon after getting her U.S. citizenship, Melania set about getting the rest of her family citizenship. “Chain migration.”

Normally, this immigration tale would be the ultimate American story, we’re all immigrants, right? But increasingly, something about this whole thing – especially the many connections to Eastern Europe, sound … it sounds weird, almost like Melania wants to guarantee that she has an out.

We should note that Slovenia is a NATO nation, so it isn’t quite as “weird” as if it were “under Putin’s thumb,” but still … it just doesn’t sound “right.” Is it too much to ask that people who live in the White House are Americans, first, last, always, for better or worse? Maybe Mel just isn’t the commitment type?

You would think this would matter to Mel, since she thought the last resident in the White House was Kenyan. I guess there is something different about Mel.

Awful person.