Where is Melania? Experts weigh in on former FLOTUS' mysterious absence from Donald Trump’s life
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: As it is widely known, Donald Trump is facing criminal charges in court and has not shied away from discussing it. Shockingly, soon after getting to know about the charges, he attended a dinner party with his wife, Melania. However, since that get-together, the former first lady has mysteriously vanished from the public eye.
The former model was missing on Tuesday, April 4, when Trump went to New York to hear all the charges against him, as per The Daily Mail. On the same night, during an event in Florida, the ex-president made a forceful speech, targeting his haters, but Melania was absent, fueling speculation that she was distancing herself from her husband's legal situation. The 76-year-old Trump reportedly said that night, “I built a great business with my family, a fantastic business,” while mentioning all his family members, including his and his third wife’s only child, Barron. However, he did not take Melania’s name.
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‘I can’t imagine that she isn’t humiliated’
The 52-year-old’s apparent absence has given birth to numerous conspiracy theories, with several news outlets discussing the whys and wherefores of her actions, post-indictment. Experts have weighed in with explanations regarding the same. Historian Myra Gutin, president of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE) told the Daily Mail, “We have no knowledge of what she feels about the indictment, it’s anybody guess.” Gutin shared, “There have been other revelations about Trump over the years and she has stayed with him. I can’t imagine that she isn’t humiliated and upset and it could be that she just does not want to support him in this. Maybe she thought that once she left the White House, it would all go away.”
‘Very different from other first ladies’
Lauren Wright, a political scientist at Princeton University, claimed that she’s "not surprised" Melania was nowhere to be found at her husband’s post-indictment speech. "Throughout Trump’s presidency, when the Stormy Daniels issue came up, Melania would assert her independence in one way or another, either avoiding the topic or, most famously, contradicting those who claimed to know her feelings about the alleged extramarital dalliance,” she said.
Wright added, “What she has never done on this issue is come to Trump’s rescue or play any part in cleaning up his mess. That makes her very different from other first ladies.”
‘I think it is a good marriage’
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former aide of Melania, has something more to add. The author of ‘Melania And Me: The Rise And Fall of My Friendship With The First Lady’ said, “This is a transactional marriage. Melania knew what she was getting into when she married Donald. Her means of survival is just to act like it never happened. Of course, she knows everything. But her silence is her dignity. She will stand by her husband as she always does. I don’t think Melania is humiliated — but she is angry.”
However, Paolo Zampolli, a New York-based businessman, UN ambassador, and Kennedy Center trustee, who know the Trumps for years, does not believe there’s any tension between them. He noted, “My family and I had dinner with them just a few months ago on New Year’s Eve at Mar-a-Lago and everything was perfect. There was chemistry between them. I think it is a good marriage.”
“They have been together for a long time and I don’t see that changing. There was no need for Melania to go to New York for a day in court because it was an unnecessary and uncomfortable experience that was handled by Mr Trump and his attorneys. It wasn’t like it was a State Dinner,” Zampolli added.