Melania Trump's Fundraising Event Controversy Explained

Melania Trump is coming under fire once again, this time over a major fundraising event controversy.

It's safe to say that Donald Trump's wife hasn't exactly escaped criticism over the years, as she's regularly been called out over some, well, let's just say not exactly the best ideas. Of course, there was that infamous "I really don't care, do you?" coat she wore before meeting migrant children in a detention centre that had eyebrows raising, plus there was all that drama over the rose garden in the White House which she overdid while her husband was still in the Oval Office.

But despite the Trump's having the U-Haul roll up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in January 2021, that hasn't stopped the famous family from courting controversy. Donald continued his trend of dividing opinion, perhaps most notably when he seemingly praised Russian president Vladimir Putin amid the country's conflict with Ukraine.

"I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion... of Ukraine... as independent. Oh, that's wonderful," he claimed on "The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show" on February 22, though it's been suggested he was being sarcastic. "He's going to go in and be a peacekeeper. That's the strongest peace force. We could use that on our southern border. That's the strongest peace force I've ever seen," he continued, before calling Putin "very savvy."

Those remarks were questionable at best, but now it's Melania who's coming under fire.

It was Melania Trump's turn to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons again on March 2 when it was revealed a fundraising event she'd planned to take place on April 9 in Naples, Florida, had seemingly had the plug pulled because state regulators found that it "had not properly registered to solicit contributions," according to New York Times.

It's thought that the former first lady had claimed the money raised at the event would be used on scholarships for children who are coming out of foster care. The event was thought to be called "Tulips & Topiaries," and had tickets on sale for up to $50,000 for a VIP table.

Erin Moffet, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, claimed, "They were not registered as a professional solicitor or a fund-raising consultant, and they are working to rectify that."

A representative for Donald Trump's wife denied that the event had been canceled, saying in a statement that it was being reorganized and the date was being changed "due to the overwhelming support from individuals and charitable organizations." Melania's team did not confirm how much money had been raised so far.

Melania previously hit out over the charity event in February, slamming a report from Raw Story which claimed she was "being investigated for skirting charity laws." She hit back on Twitter it was "dishonest reporting" and claimed "everything has been done lawfully."