Melania Trump, wearing a bright red skirt suit, joined her husband Donald Trump to sign the paperwork that will make him the Republican presidential nominee.
The former first lady did not join the rest of the Trump family and stepped outside the convention hall to listen to Hulk Hogan address the crowd.
Ivanka Trump, Don Jr., Tiffany and Eric were with their father.
Melania Trump joins Donald Trump as he signs paperwork to be the Republican nominee
Melania was seen boarding Trump Force One in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday evening for the flight to Milwaukee. She was accompanied by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
She spoke to delegates at the 2016 and 2020 conventions, but this election year she has remained in the shadows as her husband runs for a second term.
She spoke of the horror when she realised her life and that of her son Barron were on the brink of a “devastating change” after hearing the news about her husband.
The former first lady called the gunman a “monster” and described the moment she saw the bullet hit her husband’s ear at a rally in Pennsylvania in front of thousands of his adoring fans.
“A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to play on Donald’s passion – his laughter, his wit, his love of music and his inspiration,” Melania said in an emotional statement on X on Sunday morning.
“When I watched that vicious bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized that my life and Barron’s life were on the brink of a devastating change. I am grateful to the brave Secret Service agents and law enforcement officers who risked their own lives to protect my husband.”
He called on people to “come together” and said he is thinking of his fellow Americans.
“This morning, rise above the hate, vitriol and simplistic ideas that fuel violence,” his statement continued.
‘The winds of change have arrived. To those who cry in support, I thank you. I congratulate those who have stepped forward across the political divide: thank you for remembering that every politician is a man or woman with a loving family.’
Barron attended his first political rally in early July, the week before his father’s assassination attempt. There he stood up and waved to the crowd, prompting a massive standing ovation from his father’s faithful.
The 18-year-old graduated from high school in May and is expected to attend college in the fall.
Their graduation was the last time Donald and Melania Trump were seen together in public.
Earlier this summer, Barron Trump turned down Florida’s offer to be a delegate to this summer’s Republican National Convention.
A week after the state announced that the 18-year-old would represent it in Donald Trump’s nomination, Melania Trump’s office announced that Barron had “prior commitments.”
“While Barron is honored to have been selected as a delegate for the Florida Republican Party, he regrettably declines to participate due to prior commitments,” Melania Trump’s office said.
No further details were given.
Meanwhile, Melania Trump has appeared publicly with her husband at campaign events just three times: at the kickoff of her November 2022 campaign at their Mar-a-Lago home, in March when she accompanied her husband to vote in the Florida presidential primary, and in April when she appeared at his side at a high-dollar fundraiser in Palm Beach.
In March, as she entered the polling place, Melania was asked if she would join the former president on the campaign trail.
His response: “Stay tuned.”
Melania Trump notably skipped the first presidential debate in Atlanta. Trump left the stage alone while Joe Biden was joined by Jill Biden.
But he did host two fundraisers for Log Cabin Republicans, the largest conservative LGBTQ+ organization: one at Mar-a-Lago and another at the Trumps’ home in Trump Tower in New York.