When Donald Trump was at the centre of an assassination attempt on Saturday 13 July, the world was shocked. The following day, his wife Melania Trump, released a statement on social media calling on the American people to not be divided and come together. 'We have always been a unique nation,' said the former model, who is the third wife of the businessman-turned-politician. 'America, the fabric of our gentle nation is tattered, but our courage and common sense must ascend and bring us back together as one.' Melania was scheduled to appear at the Republican National Convention in the week that has followed, but after three days of the convention, she was yet to be seen, leading internet users to ask one major question: where is Melania Trump?
On Thursday 18 July, however, Melania made an appearance to support her husband at the RNC. Dressed in red, Melania watched Trump's address and then joined him on stage, walking to the podium as balloons fell from the ceiling. The pair shared a hug and kiss on the cheek.
This marked Melania's first public appearance since the shooting, which occurred at Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when the presumptive Republican candidate was around 15 minutes into his speech. Shots were heard, and the former president was seen with blood on his ear and face. The suspected shooter, later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot dead at the scene. Bystander and volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore, 50, died in the shooting while trying to protect his family at the rally, and two others were critically injured, according to a Secret Service spokesperson.
Following the shocking incident, people were awaiting the response from the Slovenian-American former First Lady, who shares son Barron, 18, with Trump. She released her statement on Sunday 14 July, and was expected to make an appearance at the Republican National Convention, which has been taking place from Monday 15 to Thursday 15 July in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Unlike 2016 and 2020, Melania was not scheduled to speak at the RNC this year, marking a notable break from tradition where the wives of Republican presidential nominees address the convention. Instead, members of Trump's family, including his sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, have given speeches.
For the most part, Melania has abstained from attending political events during her husband's recent campaign. She's not been at any of his recent rallies, or Trump's first presidential debate against Joe Biden in June. Crucially, she was not in attendance during his hush money trial hearings, or when he was found guilty in May.
What crimes was Donald Trump found guilty of?
The assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life is the latest controversial event to surround the former president. In May, Trump was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his historic criminal trial in New York. He hit out at the court saying the verdict was a ‘disgrace’. Aside from the public humiliation of the verdict, the case was centred around Trump’s alleged sexual encounter with porn star Stormy Daniels in 2006. He was married to Melania Trump at the time, and she had given birth to their son Barron four months prior.
While Trump was due to be sentenced on 11 July, it was pushed back to September as his lawyers seek to challenge his conviction. Trump could face time in prison, although legal experts say a fine is more likely.
What did Stormy Daniels say about her relationship with Donald Trump while he was married to Melania?
Daniels says she had sex with Trump in 2006, which he denies, and that she was paid to stay quiet about it ahead of the 2016 election, which Trump won. Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen said he was told to pay Daniels a $130,000 (around £100,000) hush-money fee to silence her.
The payment itself was not illegal, but prosecutors said Trump recorded the reimbursement to Cohen as a legal expense. The former president was also accused of violating state election law.
What does Melania Trump think about Donald's conviction?
While Melania Trump has not given a statement about the trial, her former long-term adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff has offered her insight into what may be happening behind closed doors.
Speaking on CNN she said, ‘I think the family is speaking very clearly and vocally to Donald, as Melania always does, and as I used to witness. I think she’s telling him exactly how she feels and I think she is holding a mirror up to him to show him that his brazen attempts of trying to subvert our democracy and his attempt to hush everyone into believing that he did or did not sleep with Stormy Daniels has nothing to do with the fact that this is about election interference.’
When asked how Melania might feeling about the allegations, Wolkoff continued, ‘I think, you know, that Donald finally got caught. Along the way, Melania knew exactly who she married. She knew that this was a transactional marriage – she became a top model and he became a loving, doting father. It set them up for their run for the White House.’