A former close confidant of Melania Trump made a surprising claim about the former First Lady’s relationship with Donald Trump amid rumors about pressure on her marriage.
Stephanie Winstom Wolkoff, who was once a senior adviser to Melania, posted a clip from The Apprentice on X Sunday describing Trump as a family man.
The video shows her son Barron carrying him as a baby outside their opulent home.
She goes to greet Donald and tells him “Daddy’s coming home” as he pulls up in a convertible and says “Hi, honey.”
‘Many may think that ‘dad’s house’ is a Father’s Day video. No!’ Winston Wolkoff wrote in X.
‘Millions of Americans watched The Apprentice. Donald was a household name. He needed a woman who would look and play the role and let him be the star. Marrying Melania and making her a Vogue cover model legitimized them both.
Former President Donald Trump and Melania at a fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 6, before the start of Trump’s trial in New York.
She suggests the former first couple’s relationship was largely a business arrangement.
“What catapulted ‘businessman’ Donald J. Trump and his ‘supermodel’ wife into the White House was a mirage created by Survivor producer Mark Burnett and NBC boss Jeff Zucker,” he continued.
He pointed to a new book by Ramin Setoodeh, ‘Apprentice in Wonderland,’ in which he admits he would not have been president without the television show.
The Trumps’ clip on The Apprentice recently went viral online, with users claiming it was “weird footage” of her as a mother, when it was actually the opening of the show.
Melania Trump holding Barron in a clip for The Apprentice on NBC. The video recently went viral as “weird footage,” but it was from the show.
In the video, then-TV star Donald Trump hosts the final season of The Apprentice with Melania by his side.
Winston Wolkoff’s takedown comes as Melania is largely out of public view as Trump prepares a bid for a second term in the White House and fights criminal charges in multiple cases.
The former first lady was not at the former president’s side during his criminal trial last month in New York, which included detailed testimony about the former president allegedly cheating on her with a porn star.
Legal experts believed that an appearance by Melania in Manhattan criminal court was unnecessary to help her husband’s case because the couple is so well known, but it raised speculation about her views on the allegations.
After the guilty verdict, Trump was in New York when her husband gave a speech at Trump Tower, but she did not attend the speech in which the former president criticized the case and the verdict.
Four days later, Trump was seen for the first time since the conviction leaving Trump Tower with Barron in tow.
Prior to that, she had been holed up in her New York residence for ten days after flying to New York on May 23.
The former first couple has only been seen together less than a handful of times this year.
The couple was spotted attending a mega fundraiser in early April hosted by billionaire John Paulson.
Trump, dressed in a lavender jumpsuit, smiled as she posed for photos with her husband before the dinner that raised more than $40 million for her re-election campaign.
Melania Trump posing with her husband Donald outside a campaign fundraiser on April 6, 2024. The event raised more than $40 million for Trump’s bid to return to the White House, according to his campaign. .
Melania Trump smiles on March 19 as she accompanies the former president to vote in the Florida Republican presidential primary in Palm Beach, Florida. When she was asked about the campaign, she said “stay tuned.”
In March, he accompanied the former president to cast his vote in the Florida presidential primary.
When a journalist asked her about the election campaign, she simply responded “stay tuned.”
Most recently, the couple cheered on their 18-year-old son Barron as he graduated from high school on May 17 in West Palm Beach. Trump was given Friday off from the courthouse to fly to the event.
The couple was seen smiling and clapping as their only son walked across the stage.
But the former first lady has not made any public comments about the former president’s hush money conviction nor has she attended any of his campaign events to date.
When it was revealed that his son Barron could be a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this summer, his office quickly rejected the idea, saying he had a prior commitment.
Melania Trump and the former president at Barron’s High School graduation on May 17
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff (left) with Melania Trump. She was a longtime adviser to the former first lady before the relationship turned sour.
Mrs Trump, 54, was also seen leaving Trump Tower in New York days after the guilty verdict.
While several Trumps shared posts about Father’s Day on Sunday, Melania remained silent on social media despite sharing a post about X for Mother’s Day last month.
Winston Wolkoff appeared on CNN after Trump was convicted to share what she believed was really happening behind closed doors between the Trumps.
He said he believed Melania Trump was probably being direct and telling him exactly how she felt.
‘Donald was finally caught and along the way Melania knew exactly who she would marry. “She knew it was a transactional marriage,” Winston Wolkoff said.
“She became a top model, he became a loving, caring father, and that prepared them for his run for the White House,” he said.
He said Melania Trump will appear when necessary to distract Trump.
But the former first lady has always kept a low profile and has remained silent about her relationship with Trump.
The couple first met at a party during New York Fashion Week in 1998. During interviews, Melania said Trump invited her. At the time, Trump was still married to his second wife, Marla Maples, but they were separated.
Melania first appeared on The Apprentice at the end of the first season as his girlfriend in 2004.
They ended up getting married in a well-publicized lavish wedding in Florida in January 2005. Barron Trump was born in March 2006.