Would she emerge in a blaze of supportive glory – or snub him and plunge his darkest day into even deeper despair? Spectacularly, it was the latter.
When Donald Trump’s family — Don Jr., Eric, Tiffany — loyally marched into the Mar-a-Lago ballroom on Wednesday night, the most notable absence was not that of his daughter Ivanka, but of his sphinx-like wife Melania.
But could you blame her? For how angry she must be with her husband and this whole cheesy saga that keeps alive sordid allegations that Trump paid former porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an extramarital affair.
Because the former first lady has now faced up to a year and a half with her dirty laundry being aired in public, with the world being continually reminded of her husband’s infidelity as the New York criminal case drags on.
Nonetheless, Melania’s no-show was in stark contrast to last week, when a picture of the couple emerged with friends at Trump’s Palm Beach resort, despite recent news of his indictment and imminent arrest.
Trump ally Gina Loudon, who took the picture, described the scene as one of “love” and “happiness.”
Melania Trump failed to appear for husband Donald’s speech at Mar-a-Lago following his historic arrest and indictment in New York
Donald and Melania Trump were pictured together at Trump’s Palm Beach resort last week following the latest news of his indictment and imminent arrest
Former porn star Stormy Daniels was allegedly paid hush money by Donald Trump to cover up an affair
“Mrs Trump… stands behind her husband as she always has,” a source assured .
And yet, on what may be the most important day in her husband’s career, this was the moment – the powerful defensive speech following his historic indictment – when Melania’s reassuring presence shattered the image of her as the reluctant, ‘captive’ woman she so often occupies becomes.
But it shouldn’t be. And of course, her notable absence from Trump’s speech – which was delivered in the same ballroom where they wed 18 years ago – immediately sparked speculation across all media sites.
Was Wednesday’s indictment drama the straw that broke the camel’s back?
Now has fresh insight into the rumors that have dogged Melania, 52, since the early days of Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Almost everyone from cable news networks to the barking Twitter crowds has at one point portrayed her as the prisoner of an unhappy marriage to a man 24 years her senior – only to have her then defy expectations.
During the turbulent Trump presidency, calls for “#FreeMelania” began to surface on social media. Embarrassing video clips of her fending off his attempts to hold her hand in public have been shown as evidence of her alleged “captivity”. Some even compared the situation to domestic violence.
Eric Trump, pictured with his wife Lara (left), and Tiffany Trump (right) were present at their father’s Mar-a-Lago speech
Donald Trump Jr. and his fiancé Kimberly Guilfoyle have also both been spotted in Mar-a-Lago
In a telltale 2018 memoir, former Trump aide Omarosa Manigault Newman — whom Trump fired in his first year in office and was memorablely nicknamed “Wacky” Omarosa — wrote: “Melania is counting every minute until he is out of office and she can divorce him.’
And yet, as recently as last May, the former first lady grinned and told Fox News “never say never” when asked about a possible return to the White House.
Indeed, “Miserable Melania” is a label that’s been hard to shake despite clear evidence to the contrary.
Memorably, in January 2018, days after Trump’s alleged affair with Stormy Daniels was published by The Wall Street Journal, the first lady canceled plans to accompany her husband to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She blamed “scheduling and logistical issues.”
In a telltale 2018 memoir, former Trump aide Omarosa Manigault Newman — whom Trump fired in his first year in office and was memorablely nicknamed “Wacky” Omarosa — wrote: “Melania is counting every minute until he is out of office and she can divorce him.’
And yet, as recently as last May, the former first lady grinned and told Fox News “never say never” when asked about a possible return to the White House.
Indeed, “Miserable Melania” is a label that’s been hard to shake despite clear evidence to the contrary.
Donald Trump enters the courtroom in Manhattan on Wednesday
Memorably, in January 2018, days after Trump’s alleged affair with Stormy Daniels was published by The Wall Street Journal, the first lady canceled plans to accompany her husband to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She blamed “scheduling and logistical issues.”
Predictably, the media became furious.
But just a few weeks later, she reappeared—smiling and supportive, dressed in angel white—at Trump’s State of the Union address. The audience greeted her with thunderous applause – and the rumor mill died down once again.
As recently as last Thursday, a host of The View talk show Sara Haines speculated whether Melania’s marriage was a transaction: “There could be money in exchange, doing business, making agreements.”
Of course, the theory that her reasons for staying married are financial is far from new.
A 2020 book by Washington Post reporter Mary Jordan claimed that Melania delayed her move from Trump Tower to the White House until 2017 because she was renegotiating her marriage contract.
Although the details of the agreement remain a mystery, Jordan noted that she wasn’t “incredibly generous” to begin with. The cynical suggestion was that she’d secured a better “deal” by now.
Melania Trump on her wedding day in 2005
Donald and Melania Trump at a New Year’s Eve party in Mar-a-Lago last year
Yet some of those who have known Melania well over the years say she’s unfairly maligned — and often underestimated.
That the Slovenian immigrant, who was born the daughter of a car salesman and factory worker and grew up under communism before moving to New York in 1996, knew exactly what type of man she was marrying. And that she’s proud of her amazing fate of becoming the second First Lady to be born outside of the United States.
Melania’s former Chief of Staff Stephanie Grisham, who resigned after the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, told this week: “I think Melania knew who her husband was when she married him. She has a very realistic and practical view of who her husband is. She never mentioned divorce. And when it came to Stormy, all she would say was, ‘his problem’.’
“I wasn’t surprised she wasn’t [at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday]. She doesn’t want to be seen as the woman who stands by her husband no matter what he does. She puts herself first,” she added.
“She never wanted to be like Hillary Clinton. After the news of Monica Lewinsky came out and [Hillary] took her husband to the helicopter during lunch anyway… Melania didn’t want to be that person. She just won’t be a dwindling violet standing next to him.’
Could that be the reason behind Melania’s conspicuous absence?
Sure, Grisham — who’s been relatively loyal to Melania despite being outspokenly critical of Trump — paints a picture of a much more confident and committed woman than the icy and bland clotheshorse she’s often caricatured as.
A young Melania Trump in her modeling days
“They always seemed like a partnership to me,” Grisham said. “He used to really reach out to her and took her advice very seriously.”
This aligns with the startling revelation by former acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, who wrote in his memoir this year that Melania sat next to Trump in the situation room during the October 2019 crackdown to assassinate ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
According to Miller, it was Melania who suggested Trump make a public statement on the assassination in the style of Barack Obama’s famous Osama Bin Laden speech.
When Melania visited a detention center for migrant children in 2018 wearing a jacket that read “I really don’t care, do I?” she was criticized for being painfully out of touch.
Though her expertise doesn’t lie in public speaking and she generally prefers to shy away from scandal, Melania took the highly irregular step of speaking personally about the distasteful stunt in an interview.
‘[It was] some kind of message,’ she hissed. “It was for the people and for the left-wing media that criticized me. I want to show them that I don’t care. You can criticize anything you want to say. But it won’t stop me [doing] what I feel is right.’
It was a fleeting show of public confidence – perhaps even aggression – that could betray a more fiery private personality.
A newly married Donald and Melania Trump pictured together in 2006
Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared recently relocated to distance themselves from Donald, even moving to Miami with their young children
After all, this is the woman who, in a 2016 interview about how she met Trump, revealed: “He wanted my number, but he had a date, so of course I didn’t give it to him. I said, “I won’t give you my number; you give me yours and I’ll call you.’
Unlike Ivanka — formerly Trump’s fierce defender and beloved first daughter — Melania has not yet wavered in her unequivocal support for Trump, at least in her public statements.
Following news of Trump’s impeachment last week, Ivanka – who has recently moved to distance herself from her father and even moved to Miami with her husband Jared Kushner and their young children – issued a rather bizarre and ambivalent statement.
“I love my father and I love my country. Both hurt me today,” she said.
For her part, Melania, and at least until we hear otherwise, has yet to change the official line that she’s firmly “standing behind her husband” — despite the humiliation she must feel over the Stormy Daniels affair.
Yes, her absence from Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday raises new questions about the stability of the Trumps’ marriage — but any sane person would also know better than to write off the woman who has consistently baffled her critics.