President Donald Trump told supporters that Melania Trump was "going crazy" with his behaviour on stage, describing disagreements over his rally performances as author Michael Wolff's unverified claims about their marriage resurfaced.
Speaking in Bullhead City, Arizona, on Wednesday, October 14, Trump said the first lady objected to his dancing and physical impersonations during public appearances. His remarks described differences over presidential presentation, without establishing broader problems in their relationship.
"I tell you, my wife is going crazy with me," Trump said, according to a rally transcript published by Roll Call's Factba.se. He quoted her as telling him: "You're president of the United States. You shouldn't be doing this."
Trump imitated a weightlifter by moving his arms and grunting during the speech, delivered while campaigning for Republican candidates ahead of November's midterm elections. He also recounted a swimming anecdote involving an athlete he portrayed as exceptionally large.
The president said Melania preferred that he finish rallies with a restrained wave instead of dancing offstage. Recounting another purported exchange, he quoted her as saying: "My darling, I love you very much, but please don't do that."
Trump discussed his customary exit song, the Village People's "YMCA," calling it the "gay national anthem." He also claimed to have received the highest gay vote of any Republican in history, without providing figures to support that assertion.
The transcript and coverage by The Daily Beast document what Trump publicly said. They do not independently confirm the private conversations he attributed to his wife.
His Arizona remarks followed a separate marriage joke at a rally in Wasilla, Alaska, where he recounted speaking with a police officer whose retirement investments had improved.
According to Trump, the officer said his wife now considered him financially capable after previously viewing him as unsuccessful. When Trump asked whether he intended to remain married, the officer allegedly replied that he was considering it.
"Stay with your wife. It's much less expensive," Trump said.
The punchline drew laughter and criticism online. One commenter described his apparent outlook as treating marriage like "an emotionless financial transaction," while another acknowledged his candour. Those reactions do not establish how Melania interpreted the joke.
Separately, Wolff alleged in a July post on his Substack publication, HOWL, that the couple's relationship was probably at its lowest point since the Stormy Daniels trial. He also claimed they barely spoke.
Those assertions remain unverified in the supplied reporting. The White House has previously rejected Wolff's accounts and accused him of fabricating stories.
Wolff's reference concerned the New York case in which Trump was convicted in May 2024 of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The records involved reimbursements for a $130,000 payment his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to Daniels before the 2016 election.
