Former President Donald Trump confirmed that his wife Melania’s mother is “very ill” and that it forced the former first lady to skip New Year’s Eve celebrations over the weekend.
During an event at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, the former president told a crowd that “hopefully she'll be recovering,” adding that he had spoken with Melania, who is at a hospital with her mother, according to video footage of the event.
“We are going to have a great year. Our country has gone to hell and we’re going to turn it around, we’re going to turn it around pretty quickly,” President Trump said during his Mar-a-Lago speech on Dec. 31.
“We’re going to have a great 2024, we’re going to make America great again.”
There had been speculation about the former first lady after she did not appear in a recent holiday photo of the Trump family that was posted to Instagram by Donald Trump Jr.’s fiancee, Kimberly Guilfoyle, one day after Christmas. Melania’s father, Viktor Knavs, was in the photo.
The photo also included President Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ms. Guilfoyle, Barron Trump, Tiffany Trump and her husband Michael Boulos, and Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Mr. Kushner’s and Ms. Trump’s three children were also present.
Since her husband left office in early 2021, Melania Trump has made few public appearances. She hasn’t been at many of his campaign trail stops, and she hasn’t attended his multiple court appearances in the past year.
“You are American,” Mrs. Trump, who was born in Slovenia, told newly naturalized American citizens at the National Archives event.
“Be a beacon of inspiration for your children and those who follow in your footsteps. May your journey continue to be filled with endless possibilities. And may your contributions enrich the fabric of this great nation.”
“My grandmother campaigned against and voted against some of their husbands,” Jason Carter, one of the Carters’ grandchildren, told news outlets. “But she believed that there are some things that are more important than politics.”
“She said sweet things about my mother,” Chip Carter, the Carters’ son, told the Washington Post about Mrs. Trump’s attendance. “She thanked us for getting an invitation and we thanked her for coming—and I gave her a hug.”
“My husband achieved tremendous success in his first administration, and he can lead us toward greatness and prosperity once again,” she added.
As for the former president, recent polls show that he has a significant lead over his Republican rivals for the presidency. An aggregate posted by RealClearPolitics shows that as of Jan. 1, he’s around 50 percentage points above former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
He faces felony charges in four jurisdictions, and a judge in Washington has set what could be his first trial date for March 4—one day before the crucial Super Tuesday nominating primaries.
A court in Colorado and a Maine official this past week removed President Trump from ballots, setting up multiple avenues for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
