[Bolduan:] Melania Trump is back on the world stage as well with President Trump in London. They're headed to a tea shortly with Prince Charles and the duchess of Cornwall in a few minutes. When it comes to the first lady, it really seems everyone has a theory about Melania Trump. As the "New York Times" puts it real well today, "If administration is a Rorschach test, she's a splash of ink across the White House. She is either a prisoner in the White House or she rules the roost. She's estranged from her husband or a close and influential adviser." And many more. Someone with some new insights here, my colleague, Kate Bennett, out with a new book called "Free, Melania, An Unauthorized Biography," out today. She joins me from Washington. It's great to see you, Kate.
[Kate Bennett, Cnn White House Reporter:] Thanks, Kate. Thank you.
[Bolduan:] Thank you. What about all these theories? Her relationships, not only with President Trump but also with her stepdaughter, Ivanka, and the second lady, Karen Pence.
[Bennett:] What I try to do in the book is sort of give a comprehensive look at Melania Trump's world. And Ivanka Trump is very much in it. She's been there for the 20 years that she and Donald Trump have been together. Ivanka Trump and Melania have had a warm relationship. But the White House years have really caused some friction. It's an unprecedented situation. You have two glamorous women. They both have the ear of the president. They're both influential. They both have overlapping objectives at times. And it's created a behind- the-scenes deterioration in their relationship. And sometimes, backstage, things have gotten a little more complex when you consider this bizarre role of first daughter meshed with this role of first lady.
[Bolduan:] Absolutely. What about with Karen Pence? I bet you have some very interesting insights into that relationship.
[Bennett:] Starting out, for Karen Pence, Melania Trump seemed like the exotic unicorn. It couldn't be more different. She was a model, had posed naked in risque photographs, she's the third wife. She's anything but the traditional, value-centric Karen Pence. In the beginning again, my reporting shows it wasn't always, right off the bat, a super warm friendship. Lately, the two have done more events together. I was with them on a couple trips lately and they seem to be more in lockstep. But right off the bat, there was a behind-the-scenes, again, motion going on where people don't know what to make of Melania Trump, and Karen Pence is one of those people.
[Bolduan:] People don't know what to make of the relationship between Melania Trump and President Trump. And you have some new and interesting insights into kind of how they operate and how it works, kind of, between them, if you will. What's your theory, Kate?
[Bennett:] You know, people are often surprised when they ask me, does she hate him, what's it like behind the scenes. Actually, the answer is no. They get along quite well. They're close. They speak throughout the day. They often are on the phone together. She gives him advice. She's very vocal about her opinions. He doesn't always take them. She's an influence and she's his eyes and ears in a lot of ways. And she can maintain that because she's publicly very private, publicly quiet. But behind the scenes, she and her husband have, over their two decades together, forged a relationship that might not look like a traditional marriage but it works for them. And certainly, you know, behind the scenes you always have those couples when you go to a dinner party and you walk away going, why is he with her? She's so funny and he's so dull, or vice versa. I think people question it, and that's normal. But for them, it works.
[Bolduan:] Real quick, have you gotten any response from the White House about your book?
[Bennett:] Not yet, no. And again, Melania Trump, being a very private person, I'm not sure that I will. But certainly, you know, I cover the beat. They know I've been working on a book, so we'll see.
[Bolduan:] And you'll continue to cover it. And it's a great read. Kate, thank you so much. Congratulations.
[Bennett:] Thank you.
[Bolduan:] "Free, Melania" out today. Still ahead, a busy day ahead for President Trump. Moments from now, he meets with members of the royal family. Plus, what's the fallout going to be after that faceoff we saw play out this morning with the president of France?