Melania Trump officially broke her broadcast silence with a Happy Easter tweet, her first social media post in a month.
The former first lady has been notably absent from the limelight since March 30, the night her husband, Donald Trump, was indicted on charges of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments he allegedly made to porn star Stormy Daniels and a former janitor.
Since that event 10 days ago, Melania seems to have disappeared into thin air.
She wasn’t in New York City last week to support her husband as he faces charges in court, and she wasn’t seen at the former president’s homecoming to Florida later that night, when he yelled at each of his children — but said nothing. Melania.
Melania also hasn’t posted on her official Twitter page since March 9, until on Sunday she tweeted a simple “Happy Easter!” A message and a picture of a pink rose.
Melania Trump broke the radio silence on Sunday with a simple “Happy Easter!” tweet
Melania has not appeared in public since March 30 — the evening it was announced that Trump would be impeached by Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg.
Previous reports suggested Melania would stand by her husband, despite her husband’s continued anger over hush money he allegedly paid porn star Stormy Daniels for a one-night stand she allegedly had, which Trump denies.
However, Melania wasn’t by his side when he turned himself in to authorities last Tuesday when he pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges, and she wasn’t there at his Mar-a-Lago rally in the aftermath.
Three of the Trumps’ five children — Don Jr., Eric and Tiffany — sat in the front row with their significant others: Kimberly Guilfoyle, Lara Trump, and Michael Pauls at the rally.
But Melania Trump, his wife of 18 years, and Ivanka Trump, their eldest and some would say, his favorite child, were notably absent.
Ivanka said she’s done with politics, and wants to focus on raising her son and daughter with husband Jared Kushner, who was recently treated for thyroid cancer.
Trump’s youngest son, Barron, has also disappeared, but the 17-year-old, who is still in high school, is rarely seen in public with the rest of the family.
Oddly enough, Viktor Knavs, Melania’s father, sat between the former president’s two sons in the front row, a prominent position that put him directly in the eyes of the cameras.
It is unclear why she was not there. She is said to be hurt and angry over allegations that Trump had an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels as she faces up to a year and a half of having her dirty laundry publicly released as the criminal case continues in New York.
Sources who know the former first lady well say she is choosing to stay out of the spotlight to protect herself from news of her husband’s infidelity
Melania was notably absent Saturday night, when Trump attended the UFC 287 wrestling match in downtown Miami
Photo of former President Donald Trump with Kid Rock in a wrestling match
However, Melania’s no-show came in stark contrast to last week, when a photo surfaced of the couple with friends at Trump’s Palm Beach resort, despite recent news of his imminent conviction and arrest.
But this isn’t the first time Melania has gone missing.
In January 2018, days after The Wall Street Journal revealed Trump’s alleged affair with Stormy Daniels, the first lady canceled plans to accompany her husband to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
She blamed “scheduling and logistics” at the time.
Melania also wasn’t there to play the supportive political wife when her beleaguered husband flew to New York on Tuesday to confront a judge and hear 34 charges.
Those who know the former First Lady well now say she is choosing to stay out of the spotlight to protect herself from news of her husband’s infidelity.
Before the indictment was announced last week, a source told PEOPLE that Melania, 52, “lives her own life” and “still feels happy” in Mar-a-Lago, but “she remains angry and doesn’t want to hear” about the alleged $130,000 payment. to daniels.
Lauren Wright, a professor of political science at Princeton University, told DailyMail.com that she was “not surprised that Melania was nowhere to be found in her husband’s letter after the impeachment was made.
“Throughout the Trump presidency, when the Stormy Daniels affair came to light, Melania had been asserting her independence in one way or another, either avoiding the topic or, more famously, contradicting those who claimed to know her feelings about alleged extramarital foreplay,” she noted. .
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former aide and friend, also said that she believes Melania’s recent silence and disappearance from the scene was intentional.
“It’s her weapon of choice and her shield,” she says.
As for whether she will stand by her husband again if he wins the Republican nomination for the next US elections, no one is sure.
“All I’ve been told is that she doesn’t want a part of the 2024 presidential cycle and the campaign she has to do,” says Mira Gutin, president of the First Ladies’ Association for Research and Education.
She hasn’t been with Trump at his rallies yet and I don’t think she was particularly happy in the White House, so yeah, I can see her being less than excited about any of this.
