Former First Lady Melania Trump's absence from the campaign trail has been a topic of much speculation, and now her former aide, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, has come forward to slam the reported reason for her absence as "pathetic." Wolkoff, who was once a close confidant and Melania's first hire as first lady in 2016, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express her outrage at the excuse provided by an anonymous source to The Independent.
The source had claimed that Melania's absence was due to her feeling "betrayed by her staff" during her time in the White House, citing Wolkoff's 2020 book "Melania and Me" as a contributing factor. However, Wolkoff vehemently disagreed with this explanation, writing, "The AUDACITY! For any human being to make EXCUSES for Melania Trump not campaigning with Donald because she 'felt betrayed by her staff' is PATHETIC. Melania LIED & watched the media & her WH CRUCIFY me & then she used her DOJ to try and SILENCE me. EVIL!"
Wolkoff's relationship with Melania fell apart, leading to her departure from the White House in 2018. The former aide's strong reaction to the reported excuse has reignited the controversy surrounding Melania's role in her husband's re-election campaign.
According to CNN, a source close to the Trump campaign has indicated that Melania's role is still up in the air and undecided. "She'll definitely have a role, but in terms of what that is, I don't know," the source said. "It is her decision on how much or how little she will be campaigning." The insider also noted that Melania is "very selective and methodical in what she wants to do and how she presents herself" and is "very decisive with these things and knows they have a lot of intended and unintended consequences."
Despite the uncertainty surrounding her campaign involvement, Melania recently made a rare appearance alongside her husband, the presumptive Republican Party nominee, to cast their ballot in the Florida presidential primary. When asked if she would be joining her husband on the campaign trail, Melania hinted at a return to politics, saying, "Stay tuned."
Prior to this appearance, Melania had been absent from the spotlight since Trump launched his campaign in November 2022. She was notably absent from his election night watch party last month at their Mar-a-Lago resort and has not appeared by his side at any of his many court appearances.
The couple recently attended the 40th birthday celebration of Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, where they posed for photographs alongside the birthday girl. Melania looked stunning in a black dress with ruffles, while Trump wore his usual suit and a tie with stripe patterns. The guest list reportedly included Trump's sons, Eric and Don Jr., and their partners, Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle.
In addition to the campaign controversy, the couple recently came under fire for their family dinner tradition at Mar-a-Lago. Social media users mocked the grand entrance they made at their Easter celebration, with one tweet claiming that the family was "super cringe" for entering an event at their home in such a lavish way. Others criticized Trump for the fanfare he received just for going to dinner.
