Ex-Aide Confirms What We Suspected About Melania's Feelings On Trump Criminal Trial

Donald Trump's first criminal case to go to trial is centered on alleged hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels, but she's not the one who has kept her lips sealed; it's Melania Trump who has maintained her silence throughout the proceedings.

While "Where's Melania?" is a popular refrain, she hasn't vanished. On April 20, she hosted a fundraising event for the Log Cabin Republicans at Mar-a-Lago, signaling her support for her husband's attempt to cling to his political career. But she has not spoken out in his defense concerning the criminal trial. After The Wall Street Journal dropped its bombshell 2018 report on the $130,000 payment to Daniels, sources told The New York Times that Melania was livid about the hush money story. Weeks later, she threw her husband a bone by dismissing reports about the scandal as the media "speculating" in an ABC News interview.

According to Melania's former chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, Melania might not mind watching Donald squirm. "If she felt this was a disgrace, she would say something," Grisham told CNN. Grisham also criticized Melania for selling jewelry during her husband's trial, arguing that it's "not a very good look." She has a point; to some, it could come off as a way to send the nation the message, "I really don't care, do u?" If Melania really cared to give Donald a morality boost right now, there's one thing she could do that would speak volumes — and she wouldn't have to say a word.

Stephanie Grisham told CNN that Melania Trump is likely paying close attention to Donald Trump's criminal trial despite her silence about it. She believes that one thing Melania will be on the lookout for is indisputable evidence of her husband's wrongdoing. "That's something she always paid quite a bit of attention to, was proof," said Grisham. She suggested Melania will be particularly interested in evidence of Donald's alleged affair with Stormy Daniels, which Donald has denied.

If Melania wished to, she could show up in court and watch the proceedings in person. However, reporters would witness her reaction if some damning evidence were to be revealed. Still, some experts think she would be doing her husband a huge favor by sitting in the courtroom. "If Melania were there supporting him, that potentially sends a message that 'I support him, I'm OK, I believe, perhaps, this didn't happen,'" former Manhattan DA prosecutor Mark Bederow told Business Insider. "I think that can only have a positive impact on the jury."

Melania has given Daniels a crude nickname, as evidenced by a secret recording. However, since she hasn't publicly accepted Donald's affair denial, this might not be a case where she's placing the sole blame on "the other woman." Daniels has offered her own thoughts about the matter, telling "Good Morning Britain" in 2023, "Silence speaks volumes." She also offered to show up in court for Melania — at her divorce trial.