A tell-all memoir by an ex-associate of First Lady Melania Trump has disclosed unflattering details about the White House as her husband seeks re-election. In Melania and Me, published Tuesday, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff claims she witnessed “deceit” and “deception” throughout her former friendship.

The White House has denounced the book as a “bizarre twisting of the truth”. On Monday, the author said she was working with authorities on a financial probe of Mr Trump’s inauguration. Mrs Winston Wolkoff, a longtime event planner for Vogue magazine, also describes the widely reported tensions between Mrs Trump and her step-daughter Ivanka Trump, who Mrs Trump allegedly refers to as “princess”.

Mrs Trump, she writes, is a fan of emojis and once sent her a text message describing Ms Trump and her husband Jared Kushner – both senior White House advisors – as “snakes”. On Monday Mrs Winston Wolkoff, who was a senior organiser for Trump’s inauguration, told ABC News that she was cooperating with investigators who are scrutinising allegations of financial crimes involved with spending for the event.(BBC)…[+]