Melania Trump Inches, Ever So Slightly, Toward Campaigning for Her Husband

Last month, CNN reported that Melania Trump, mostly absent from the campaign trail to date, was still deciding how much effort she wanted to personally put in to getting Donald Trump reelected. (“It is her decision on how much or how little she will be campaigning,” a source familiar with the matter told the outlet.) Now, it appears we have an answer: The former first lady is willing to expend at least a little bit of effort helping her husband’s chances—particularly if she can do it without being in his presence.

According to an invitation obtained by Politico, Melania will host a fundraiser this month at Mar-a-Lago to raise money for the Log Cabin Republicans, which is launching its “Road to Victory,” a plan to target voters in swing states. As Politico notes, Melania has “long maintained” a close relationship with the group, which describes itself as “the nation’s largest Republican organization dedicated to representing LGBT conservatives and allies.” In 2021, she was a special guest and received an award at a dinner it hosted at Mar-a-Lago. (For his part, the ex-president recently went on a tirade over International Transgender Day of Visibility coinciding with Easter this year—and has vowed, in a second term, to cut federal funding for schools that promote what he calls “transgender insanity.”)

Melania skipped Trump’s Super Tuesday victory party at Mar-a-Lago (i.e. her home) last month, and, by CNN’s count, has made just two formal campaign appearances: when the ex-president announced his 2024 candidacy (in 2022) and when she and Trump voted in the Florida primary last month. Asked during the latter about whether she planned to do more events, she answered, “Stay tuned.”

In an interview with Megyn Kelly last year, Trump attempted to claim that Melania’s absence simply spoke to her off-the-charts confidence (and not, say, her aversion to him). “I think part of the beauty is that mystery,” he told Kelly. “She’s introspective and she’s confident; she doesn’t need to be interviewed by you to get ripped apart for no reason. She doesn’t need to be out there. She’s got confidence; she has a lot of self-confidence.”

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