What Donald Trump Blames For Melania's Step Back From Public Life
There's some major buzz around Melania Trump's whereabouts, especially since she's been noticeably absent during Donald Trump's 2024 bid to occupy the Oval Office once more. Back in 2016, Melania was practically glued to Donald's side, but this time around, she has been mostly MIA. The former president, surprisingly, has hinted at the reasons behind her disappearing act. It's worth noting that there's hardly a mystery to solve here, though. In January 2024, Melania's beloved mother, Amalija Knavs, died shortly after a period of repeated absences from various outings, including the Trump family's annual Christmas card photo op.
"Melania has always been very devoted to her entire family," a source clarified to Fox News Digital at the time. "It should be no surprise that she spent this Christmas with her ailing mother." Donald corroborated this statement, telling the crowd at his 2024 New Year's Eve party that Melania was preoccupied with taking care of Knavs. "Melania — great First Lady, so popular, the people love her — she's now in a hospital with her mother," he said. "Her mother, Amalija, is very ill, but hopefully she'll be recovering," (via X, formerly known as Twitter).
Still, even after that, the former model hasn't really been present on the campaign trail. But, according to Donald himself, his wife isn't too keen on being in the spotlight and instead chooses to channel her energies into looking after another Trump — none other than their son, Barron Trump, who she notably keeps out of the public eye too.
Melania is primarily focused on raising their son
Donald Trump finally set the record straight as to why Melania Trump has been largely absent from his 2024 campaign. Speaking with Fox News host Laura Ingraham at a town hall in South Carolina, the 2024 presidential hopeful clarified that Melania is busy, well, mothering Barron Trump. "Her life evolves [sic] around that boy. It's so important to her," Trump confirmed. "At the same time, it also revolves around our country and the success of our country. She's raised a lot of money for charity," (via X, formerly known as Twitter).
Donald went on to say that, unlike other first ladies who apparently want to steal the spotlight from their husbands, Melania is happy to remain in the background. "She's a private person," he pointed out. However, according to the controversial politician, "The people love her. They love the fact that she's not out there so much." The Trumps have always lauded the fact that Melania is committed to motherhood. She has repeatedly shared that she never wants to entrust raising Barron to a nanny, so Donald's statement checks out.
"He needs somebody as a parent there, so I am with him all the time. As you know my husband is traveling all the time," she previously told People, when their son was still a youngster. The former model continued, "I like to be hands-on. I think it's very important [...] If you have too much help, you don't get to know your children."
Donald claims Melania prefers to be more low-key
She may have been missing thus far, but Melania Trump will not be completely absent from her husband's re-election campaign. During his chat with Laura Ingraham, Donald Trump assured everyone that the former first lady wouldn't be playing the role of the invisible wife for too much longer. "She's going to be out a lot. Not because she likes doing it, but she likes the results," he said. This sentiment echoes comments he made to Brian Kilmeade the previous month, suggesting Melania's role as his staunchest supporter and advisor is far from over.
"She's gonna play, and she always did play a big role. She was somebody that you could rely on," he argued (via Newsweek), adding, "I think she's going to be very active in the sense of being active, at the same time, I don't want my family to be too active because they did such a great job last time." Despite these declarations, sources close to the former model painted a very different picture. According to them, Melania has no interest in returning to the White House.
"Being first lady again is not what she wants. For her, it was a chapter — and it's over, and that's that," one such insider divulged to CNN, with another dishing that she prefers a quieter life, asserting, "I mean, if every single person in the world watched your every move for four or five years, and that wasn't comfortable for you — just imagine how triggering that must have been."