Melania is absent as Trump’s children rally around him
While Donald Trump’s children showed their support for their father after he became the first president in US history to become a convicted felon, his wife’s voice was conspicuously absent.
The 77-year-old’s son Eric wrote on X that the date of the verdict “may be remembered as the day his father won the election”, while the reponseof his eldest, Donald Trump Jr, was more prosaic: “Such bullshit.”
Even eldest daughter Ivanka – who was a senior adviser during her father’s administration, but notably failed to attend any of his court appearances in the hush money trial – posted a heartfelt Instagram story after the verdict.
It featured what appeared to be a photo of her as a child sitting on her father’s lap. It was captioned with a brief message: “I love you dad.”
Trump’s younger daughter, Tiffany, had not attended court until Tuesday, when she was seen standing behind her father during closing arguments alongside Don Jr, Eric and his wife Lara, who has co-chaired the Republican National Committee since March.
While his older sons attended court frequently, hoping to portray their father as a man of honour in front of the 12 Manhattan jurors, Melania and his youngest, Barron, did not. The pair were in New York when the verdict was read on Thursday, however, although it was not immediately clear when they arrived in the city, according to CNN.
Melania did not attend a fundraiser dinner with Trump at a private residence in New York on Thursday. But Barron, 18, has been named on a list of delegates-at-large from Florida to attend July’s Republican National Convention to select the party’s presidential nominee.
The New York trial had detailed her husband’s alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels in 2006 – said to have taken place just months after she gave birth to Barron.
Her silence became deafening during the trial, as court reporters continuously asked Trump during his speeches: “Where is Melania?”
Todd Landman, professor of political science at the University of Nottingham, told i: “Melania has been totally absent and quite restrained. She seems highly motivated by protecting Barron, he’s 18 years old and still young, she didn’t want him to be delegate in party – so he is trying to protect her son and some of the electorate may value commitment to him.
“Whether she dissociates herself from Trump is an open question, she has a lavish lifestyle and a nice house in Florida so it would be hard to walk away from.”
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former long-time adviser to Melania, told CNN she predicted the family would be speaking “very clearly and vocally to Donald, as Melania always does”.
“Melania knew exactly who she married, she knew this was a transactional marriage.”
Ms Wolkoff predicted Melania would “show up” at some stage on the campaign trail or at his sentencing on 11 July, as part of the “art of distraction” when other things around Trump “need to be shaded”.
The adviser previously told the Daily Beast the ex-first lady was not a victim: “She’s a ruthless survivor and opportunist — willing to do whatever it takes to resort to any means necessary for self-preservation. She’s mastered the art of complicity.”
The New York Times has reported that Melania thinks the hush money trial against her husband is a “disgrace”.
Mr Landman said: “The family is interesting; it’s hugely complicated, they many of them have different mothers and have formed coalitions within the family structure, but by and large they have been very vociferous in support for Trump.
“Ivanka has certainly taken a step back.”
Earlier this year, she announced she would not be involved in the 2024 campaign, claiming she wanted to focus on her children. “This time around, I am choosing to prioritise my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics,” she said.
Mr Landman says the decision to distance herself may be due to her growing financial interests: “She is wealthy and has her own business empire to grow. She traded under the Trump brand for quite some time, but it appears now this could be harmful, so she is carving out own independent business ventures and taking a step back.”
While the strength of Trump’s family support appears mixed, analysts say his allies have used the trial as a way to showcase their loyalty and increase their chances of winning a seat at the executive table of a Trump 2.0 presidency.
Vice-presidential hopefuls Doug Burgum, JD Vance, Byron Donalds, Cory Mills, and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy joined Trump in court at various points during the proceedings, while House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson was his most prominent supporter, claiming the outcome was “shameful”.
Andrew Rudalevige, a visiting professor of political science at the London School of Economics, told i: “Mr Trump’s allies are of course already rallying around him, supporting his fantasy that the trial was directed somehow by the Biden administration and that he is a political prisoner. It is not just ego-affirming but important to Trump’s standing with the GOP base that his allies publicly echo his claims of persecution.
“But one thing that is perhaps unique to Trump, the devotion of his base, also affects how those Republican officials react. Even Senator Susan Collins in Maine, one of the last ‘moderate’ Republicans in office, seems to have given in to this pressure and has repeated false claims about Trump’s prosecution.”
Not all of Trump’s allies or relatives have been so supportive. Former Maryland governor Larry Hogan, a Republican now running for the Senate, posted on X on Thursday night that the rule of law should be respected.
Trump’s niece, Mary L Trump, a long-time opponent of her uncle, said in a YouTube live stream following the verdict: “This scumbag finally got what was coming to him.”
