Outgoing First Lady Melania Trump listens as her husband Outgoing US President Donald Trump addresses guests at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on January 20, 2021. - President Trump and the First Lady travel to their Mar-a-Lago golf club residence in Palm Beach, Florida, and will not attend the inauguration for President-elect Joe Biden. (Photo by ALEX EDELMAN / AFP) (Photo by ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Melania Trump was “glaringly” absent from Mar-a-Lago’s ballroom Tuesday night, and former President Donald Trump noticeably failed to praise her as he thanked other family members while making his first public comments hours after being arraigned on criminal charges.
“I have a great family and they’ve done a fantastic job, and we appreciate it very much. They’ve gone through a lot,” Trump said to his crowd of supporters at his Palm Beach, Florida residence and private club, the New York Post and the Daily Mail reported.
The 76-year-old Trump, who became the first president in U.S. history to be arraigned on criminal charges, then singled out some of those family members, including two of his children who also were not present — his beloved oldest daughter Ivanka Trump and his 17-year-old son Barron.
“I have a son here (Don Jr.) who has done a great job, another son here (Eric) who has done a great job, and Ivanka,” Trump said, referring to three of his four adult children.
“And Barron will be great someday,” the former president continued, giving a shoutout to his teenage son with third wife Melania. “He is tall, and he is smart.”
As the New York Post and Daily Mail reported, the former first lady was not singled out for praise. From these reports, it also appears that Trump forgot to mention Tiffany, his daughter with second wife Marla Maples, even though Tiffany was in the audience at Mar-a-Lago with her new husband, Michael Boulos.
The significant others of Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, also were in the ballroom, showing their support as Trump tore into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw his arraignment, the New York Post said. Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Eric Trump’s wife, Lara, are both fierce proponents of Trump’s MAGA-brand of GOP politics and were active in his 2020 campaign.
But Melania Trump was “glaringly” missing, the Daily Mail said,
“Melania Trump’s absence says everything,” tweeted Michael LaRosa, a former spokesman for first lady Jill Biden. “Prior to Trump appearing in the doorway, I held my breath, awaiting to see if the former first lady would be by his side, clasping his hand, and showing unconditional love and support. There would have been so much power in that picture.”
There was speculation that Melania Trump might have skipped the event due to the origin story of her husband’s indictment by a Manhattan grand jury. The 34 felony charges against Trump stem from allegations he cheated on her with porn star Stormy Daniels and with former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the early years of their marriage and shortly after she gave birth to Barron.
The charges of falsifying business records are related to a $130,000 hush-money payoff to Daniels for an alleged sexual encounter she had with Trump at a Lake Tahoe celebrity golf tournament in 2006 and a $150,000 payment to McDougal, who claims she and Trump had a 10-month affair.
The statement of facts from Alvin Bragg’s office also detail a $30,000 payment to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have information that Trump fathered a child out of wedlock, the New York Post reported. All three of these people were allegedly paid to not tell their stories about Trump’s alleged infidelities as he was campaigning for president in 2015 and 2016.
During his angry 25-minute speech, Trump called Bragg a “criminal” and claimed that Merchan was “Trump-hating,” and criticized the fact that the judge’s daughter reportedly worked for the Biden-Harris campaign. But for some, the focus of Trump’s speech was less on his claims of innocence or his rant over a federal investigation against him and more on the fact that his wife wasn’t there in a symbolic show of support.
Melania Trump also didn’t accompany Trump to New York for his arraignment, even though she joined him for a very public dinner at Mar-a-Lago last week, after news came that he had been indicted.
Beautiful evening here at the gorgeous Mar a Lago!
Our REAL First Couple enveloped in the love of their friends and most loyal!
(Sorry to disappoint, corporate media
. Actually not. Screw you! This is a happiness you will never know, sadly). pic.twitter.com/IFsFU41lAd
— Dr. Gina (@RealDrGina) March 31, 2023
Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for information on the former first lady’s whereabouts over the past couple of days. When asked where the former first lady was Tuesday night, MyPillow CEO and Trump ally Mike Lindell told the Post: “I don’t know, I’m gonna go find out.”
Lindell then proceeded to walk out of the ballroom, the Post said.
A political source told People last week that Melania and Donald Trump were “shocked” upon hearing news of the indictment, believing that it was weeks away or wouldn’t happen at all.
With the Stormy Daniels connection to the case, Trump’s third wife also is upset and angry about the indictment — but not devastated, People also reported.
“Melania and Donald were both shocked when they were told,” a political source told People. “They weren’t expecting it, but Melania will support him. That’s what she does. They are a family.”
Melania Trump is said to be mostly focused on protecting Barron from the fall-out of criminal charges against his father, according to reports. Barron also tends to avoid public events, though the 6-foot-7-inch-tall teenager attended his father’s speech at Mar-a-Lago in November, when he announced his desire to retake the White House.
The absence of Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, Tuesday night also was noticeable, given that they played pivotal roles in Trump’s political career. They served as senior advisers in his White House and were prominent figures in his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. Ivanka Trump announced in November that she “loves” her father, but that she was stepping away from politics and wouldn’t be involved in his 2024 campaign.
The Post said the Miami-based couple had traveled to Wyoming Tuesday to celebrate Passover — a trip they’ve made in past years. Ivanka Trump reportedly saw her father in person Sunday, and she and Kushner are “supporting (Trump) as family members in private,” a person familiar with their whereabouts told the Post.
Originally published at Martha Ross