Republicans claimed that after the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, this week’s convention would be all about “unity.” But only one person made good on that promise: Melania Trump. While many Americans had zero interest in watching the presidential nominee receive extended standing ovations, learning why J.D. Vance no longer thinks his running mate is “America’s Hitler,” or finding out what happened to Amber Rose, the former First Lady’s real-life game of “Where’s Waldo?” was something we could all enjoy playing together.
The former First Lady’s actual whereabouts have always been the least interesting part of the “Where’s Melania?” conversation. It’s pretty clear that she’s usually holed up at one of several Trump estates. The more accurate and entertaining (but far less punchy) question is, “What event will Melania dare to skip next?” She bailed on her husband’s 2024 campaign launch, almost all of his campaign events and court appearances, and the first presidential debate.
This week, she skipped an even bigger moment: Trump’s triumphant entrance to the Republican National Convention on night one. Monday night was his first public appearance since being grazed by a would-be assassin’s bullet. Trump looked unusually emotional as he entered the convention floor with Lee Greenwood singing “God Bless the USA.”
The opening lines, which muse about starting over again “with just my children and my wife,” were a tad awkward, as Melania was not by Trump’s side or even in the arena. Trump eventually took his seat with three of his children and their partners: Don Jr., Eric, and the rarely seen Tiffany. Ivanka and Barron’s absence from the start of the convention was understandable. Trump’s eldest daughter has been making herself scarce since she swore off politics at the beginning of this election cycle — though she’s expected to appear at the RNC sometime this week. Barron, who just turned 18, often skipped his father’s campaign events because he was a minor.
Melania’s reasons for skipping night one of the convention (as well as night two and three) are unknown. The most obvious explanation is that she does not care for politics, her husband, or maybe both, and does not care who knows it. Perhaps, as a Doug Burgum stan, she was protesting the Vance VP pick. But at this point, it feels like Melania may just want to see what a political spouse can get away with.
Incredibly, Melania kept the game going well into night four of the RNC. On Wednesday, Eric Trump told CBS Mornings that both Ivanka and Melania would be at the convention “in full force and effect.” But when the list of speakers emerged on Thursday night, the two women weren’t on it. And when the Trumps took their seats at 8:25 p.m. the former president was joined by Ivanka, Jared, Tiffany, Eric, Don Jr., and multiple other family members — but not Melania or Barron.
Forty-five minutes later, Melania made her grand entrance, and it did not disappoint. She walked out by herself to classical music and took her place beside Vance. (Barron — who briefly named a Florida delegate to the convention before Melania declined on his behalf — ultimately did not even show up.) Presumably Donald Trump had already gone backstage to prepare for his acceptance speech, so there was no shot of Melania greeting her husband:
Melania came out on stage after Trump’s extremely long and rambling speech, and they shared this awkward moment:
So, why did Melania get her own entrance? It’s unclear! All we do know is that Donald isn’t the only Trump who knows how to build suspense for the folks watching from home.
This post was updated after Melania’s RNC appearance.
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