Donald Trump last week confirmed the reason for his wife Melania’s absence from the Trump family’s Christmas photo, telling guests at Mar-a-Lago’s New Year’s Eve party that Mrs. Trump’s mother was “very ill” and Melania was at her side, the Washington Examiner reported.
The New York Post reported in late December that sources close to the former first lady said that Melania missed the holiday photo because she was with her ailing mother Amalija Knavs in the hospital at the time.
The absence of the former first lady, who has been missing in action since her husband announced his 2024 campaign in November of last year, did not go unnoticed after the holiday shot was shared on social media by members of the Trump family.
A source close to Melania told Fox News that she was “very devoted” to her family and it wasn’t surprising that she spent Christmas with her sick mother.
The former president confirmed last Sunday that Melania’s 78-year-old mother had not been well and Melania was with her in the Miami hospital where Mrs. Knavs is staying.
Trump told his fans that he had just spoken with Melania and “hopefully” her mother would recover. He said Melania sent her love to those at the party, 95 percent of whom she knows.
While Melania Trump played an active role in Trump’s presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020, so far, she has been noticeably absent in the nearly 14 months her husband has been running.
In a September interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” when Trump was asked when Melania would be joining him on the campaign trail, the former president claimed that when it was “appropriate,” Melania would be campaigning “pretty soon.”
Trump claimed that he prefers keeping Melania away from the campaign, explaining that “it’s so nasty and so mean.”
However, with the Iowa caucus less than a week away, Melania Trump has yet to hit the campaign trail for her husband.
