Where was Melania? Donald Trump explains his wife's absence from the election campaign

Donald Trump has explained why his wife Melania was largely absent from his 2024 presidential campaign.

The former First Lady was last seen on Easter Sunday after lunch at Mar-a-Lago with her teenage son Barron, but has been almost entirely absent from both Trump's campaign rallies and his numerous criminal and civil trials.

During the 2016 and 2020 election campaigns, Mrs. Trump often stayed home while Mr. Trump campaigned. In a 2015 interview with 20/20, she explained that she wanted to be there for Barron, who was nine at the time.

After Mr Trump won the White House in 2016, Mrs Trump did not move out of the family's New York penthouse until June 2017.

The last election-related event she attended with her husband was when he voted for himself in the Florida primary in February..

When Mrs. Trump was asked at the time whether she would campaign with her husband before the November election, she replied, “Stay tuned.”

Mr Trump had hinted at her return to the campaign trail for months, but also defended her absence.

“She's a low-key person, a great person, a very confident person, and she loves our country very much. She'll be out there – at the right time,” Trump said in an interview with Meet the press in September.

A source close to the First Lady also said: CNN At the end of March, it was announced that Mrs. Trump would decide for herself when and in what form she would appear at political events. However, the closer the election gets, the more visible Mrs. Trump will probably become.

Mrs. Trump is reportedly attending a fundraiser in West Palm Beach with her husband this Saturday night. She is also reportedly appearing at a Log Cabin Republicans fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago on April 20. Politico.

She had previously attended events hosted by the group, which is described as “the largest Republican organization in the country dedicated to representing LGBT conservatives and allies,” as well as another organization called Fix California, which says it focuses on “election integrity and voter participation.”

The Independent has asked the Trump team for comment.

Mr Trump told Megyn Kelly on her podcast in September that Mrs Trump “doesn’t need to be out there.”

Around the time of the Iowa caucuses, her absence prompted Trump's critics to put up Melania missing person posters. The posters included a photo of Mrs. Trump and the caption: “Have you seen this woman? Where is our First Lady? Why is Donald Trump hiding her? We miss her. Please call 561-832-2600 if you find her.”

Someone even chartered a plane to fly a banner reading “Where is Melania?” over an Iowa State football game when Mr Trump was there last September.

Mr Trump has also previously indicated that it was his decision for his wife to step away from the spotlight. Meet the press that he wanted to keep them “away from [the campaign]”.

“It's so gross and so mean,” he said during the interview in September.

Mrs. Trump has had her own personal problems in recent months. Her mother, Amalija Knavs, died on January 9 after becoming “very ill,” according to Mr. Trump. The cause of Ms. Knavs' death has not been disclosed.

Mrs. Trump attended the memorial service for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter with other First Ladies in November and was present at a dinner for Hungarian authoritarian Viktor Orban at Mar-a-Lago Park last month.