After months of Conspicuously absent from public life, former first lady Melania Trump made a rare appearance at the Republican National Convention on Thursday.
In a break with longstanding tradition among former first ladies and spouses of presidential candidates, Melania did not address the convention — as she did in 2016 and 2020 (her 2020 speech was delivered from the White House because COVID-19 prevented the convention from being held in person). She did, however, stride across the arena in Milwaukee, getting a few minutes of screen time as classical music played.
Kid Rock performed the disturbing “Fight! Fight!” shortly after Melania took the former president's seat. Trump and Melania were photographed together backstage earlier in the night.
Her appearance comes days after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. The former president continued to wear a bandage on Thursday to cover the gunman's bullet wound to his right ear.
In response to the shooting, Melania issued a rare public statement. “As I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I knew that my life and Barron’s were about to change in a devastating way,” she wrote. “Let’s remember that when it’s time to look beyond left and right, beyond red and blue, we all come from families who have a passion to fight for a better life together, while we are here, in this earthly world.”
The former first lady has largely stayed away from her husband’s political life since leaving the White House. Melania has not appeared alongside her husband at a political event since April. The last time she attended anything resembling a campaign rally was in November 2022, when the former president formally announced his candidacy for reelection.
Melania's absence was noticeable throughout Trump's trial and conviction, which took place between April and May, despite a parade of other family members and political figures who descended on the Manhattan courthouse to show solidarity with the former president.
Several other Trump family members spoke at the convention, including Donald Trump Jr., his fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle and daughter Kay Trump, Eric Trump, Eric's wife and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Lara Trump. Osha, the wife of vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, spoke before him on Wednesday evening.
While some members of the Trump family may have plans to create a political dynasty, it's clear that the former first lady — like large swaths of the country — has little interest in participating in a second Trump presidency.
