Donald Trump appears to be working overtime to try to quell rampant divorce rumors by surrounding himself with clones of his wife, Melania Trump, whenever she disappears from public view. During his criminal trial, for example, the First Lady was nowhere to be found, and in her place was Donald’s political adviser and her uncanny look-alike, Margo Martin. This pattern persisted even during the election season, with Donald regularly appearing alongside Martin and another Melania double, Alina Habba, to, perhaps, mask his wife’s absence. Michael Wolff, who spent several months inside the White House while writing his 2018 book “Fire and Fury,” said this was a classic move straight out of Donald’s playbook.

Appearing on Sunday’s episode of “The Daily Beast” podcast, Wolff recalled noticing a pattern among the president’s female staffers regarding how they dressed and carried themselves. “Every woman that I [saw there] has long hair, worn down, skirts above the knee — and this was in the winter — and high boots. And literally, every single one,” he said. Noting that 47 is well past his sexual phase, Wolff added, “One of the things he is doing is populating his world with women who he, I suppose, in another life or another stage of life, might have been involved with. I mean, they look like Melania, in fact. So they’re a kind of sexual surrogacy in its own peculiar fashion.”

His apparent obsession with surrounding himself with Melania clones only highlights the bitter truth that Donald’s marriage is in total shambles. Earlier, the Trump biographer ignited the divorce whispers with just three words: “They are separated.” As Wolff told “The Daily Beast” podcast, “They clearly do not in any way inhabit a marriage as we define marriage, and I think maybe we can more specifically say they live separate lives.”

Among these Melania Trump clones that author Michael Wolff cited as examples are Donald Trump’s political adviser Margo Martin, his lawyer Alina Habba, former White House communications director Hope Hicks, and his so-called “human printer” Natalie Harp. According to Wolff, the divisive politician prefers to surround himself with young, attractive women whose role is to cater to his every need and to build this sort of cocoon around him. “That’s essentially the job of all of the women, and to some extent the men, but especially all of the women anticipate his needs,” Wolff told the Daily Beast. “They become this, you know, it’s not just a support system, it’s a kind of comfort blanket.”

And most of these look-alikes don’t necessarily have to be qualified — sometimes, they just have to look the part. With Martin, who looks almost exactly like a much younger Melania, there’s a lot of curiosity about what she really does behind the scenes. Chances are, she’s just there for optics. “Again, a part of this comfort blanket staff,” said Wolff, noting that Donald likes to make a connection “between pretty girls and PR.” But what about Melania? Where does his wife fit into all of this? 

These days, the FLOTUS shows up just enough to make it seem like everything’s fine between herself and the president. But the reality is, she’s being edged out. “I think she probably sees a completely inhospitable environment for her at this time because it’s an environment filled by other surrogates of the wife role,” claimed Wolff, who believes Melania has come to accept her place in the White House, which is: “There is no place for her.”