Former first lady Melania Trump did not travel with former president Donald Trump to Thursday’s presidential debate in Atlanta, her latest absence after missing several events for her husband’s campaign this year.
The Trump campaign mocked a reporter who pointed out her absence.
Meanwhile, first lady Jill Biden is with President Biden in Atlanta for the CNN debate and is watching the debate from the studio. She is expected to travel with him to Raleigh, N.C., on Thursday evening ahead of a campaign event scheduled for Friday.
A representative from the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Melania Trump traveled with the former president to some of his previous political debates in the 2016 and 2020 election cycles. But she has mostly abstained from participating in political events since leaving the White House and has not attended any of his campaign rallies in recent months.
The former first lady has skipped most events since Trump announced his presidential run, including speeches he has given at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. There have been a few exceptions for public appearances, including attending a few fundraisers in April and the high school graduation of her son with the former president, Barron Trump.
She also did not attend court proceedings in her husband’s trial in New York, nor was she seen in public with Trump after a jury found him guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records last month.
The former president told Fox News host Laura Ingraham in February that his wife is a “private person” but said he expects her to have a public presence on the presidential campaign.
In March, when asked if she was going to return to the trail, Melania Trump told a reporter: “Stay tuned.”
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Josh Dawsey contributed to this report.
(c) Washington Post
This is terrible. This proves that Trump is unfit to serve. He should resign immediately.