Melania Trump is earning the reputation of the “softer” side of President Donald Trump’s administration.

She’s remained a fascinating study in contrasts: Her quiet dignity and steely grace under fire provide a powerful counterpoint to the president’s pull-no-punches governing style.

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The first lady has provided a balance of optics that is an immeasurable force-multiplier for her husband’s messaging.

In his comments about keeping the country safe as the nation grapples with illegal immigration issues, President Trump revealed that he, too, has been emotionally torn about controversial border policies, while emphasizing his preference for “strong” solutions.

“If you’re weak … if you’re really, really pathetically weak, the country’s going to be overrun with millions of people,” Trump said Wednesday. “And if you’re strong, then you don’t have any heart. That’s a tough dilemma.”

“Honestly, we need people coming into our country,” Trump added, saying he wants “great” people immigrating to the U.S. “based on merit.”

Leftist celebrities and many members of the mainstream media have been using outright erroneous images to go after the Trump administration as callously unaffected by the dilemma of young children being separated from their illegal immigrant parents or other adults at the border.

On Wednesday afternoon, the White House took action to ameliorate the plight of children and adults separated at the border.

“We are signing an executive order in a little while,” said the president. “We’re going to keep families together, but we still have to maintain toughness, or our country will be overrun by people, by crime, by all of the things that we don’t stand for, that we don’t want.”

Melania Trump was vocal about the need for action on the child separation issue even if it meant the president’s acting without Congress, an unnamed White House official reportedly told Bloomberg, as Jennifer Jacobs reported.

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“Melania encouraged Trump to take action on his own if need be to stop separation of immigrant children from their families at border,” Jacobs reported Wednesday via Twitter. “She has been making her opinion known, saying he should do all he can whether it’s with Congress or alone, a White House official told me.”

The president emphasized the administration’s intent on immigration.

“We want the heart, but we also want strong borders,” Trump explained. “And we want no crime. We don’t want crime in this country.”

Ivanka Trump, first daughter and senior adviser to Trump, also met with the president to discuss the child separation issue, White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley told CNN last Friday.

“She offered the president her support, and she said she would talk to any member of Congress to help find a legislative solution to the issue,” he said.

Kyle Becker is a content writer and producer with LifeZette. Follow him on Twitter.