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Former First Lady Melania Trump and son Barron Trump were seen this week leaving Trump Tower carrying suitcases, leading supporters and critics to wonder where they could be headed and why.
The New York Post obtained a video showing Melania Trump, the wife of former President Donald Trump, carrying a single bag and wearing a light brown jumpsuit.
Her 18-year-old son, Barron, appeared alongside her, wearing a crisp blue suit and white shirt. They both got into a waiting, dark SUV before the entourage departed for an undisclosed location. The Post’s report also noted that the vehicles contained at least seven Louis Vuitton luggage pieces and multiple garments bearing Barron’s initials.
The trip was rumored to be a brief visit to the Trumps’ residence in Bedminster, New Jersey, providing Melania with a break from home confinement since her husband’s conviction on 34 felony counts in his Manhattan trial. Barron, who recently graduated from high school and is set to begin college in the fall, will spend the summer participating in his father’s campaign, starting next month at the Republican National Convention.
In an interview with the “Fox & Friends” weekend crew last week, the former president said the trials have been “very hard for her” but that she is “fine.”
WATCH:
First Lady Melania Trump stepped out of Trump Tower with piles of luggage and her son Barron Trump in tow Tuesday — the first time she has been seen since her husband’s conviction in a Manhattan hush money trial last week.
Melania, wearing a chic gold-brown jumpsuit and… pic.twitter.com/oKdIA7NuRD
— AJ Huber (@Huberton) June 5, 2024
“It’s tougher, I think it’s probably in many ways, it’s tougher on my family than it is on me,” he said.
Compounding the situation, the former first lady was the recipient of unwelcome advice from Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress involved in the hush money scandal.
In an interview with the UK’s Daily Mirror, Daniels suggested that Melania should leave her husband, citing “that he’s a convicted felon. That he’s proven to be abusive. He was found liable for assault,” she said, referencing the case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.
In Carroll’s case, Trump was found liable for sexual assault following her allegations that he raped her in a New York department store in the 1990s, though she could not remember key details, including an accurate timeline during the trial. Also, there were questions as to why she waited for decades to make her claim.
Melania’s most recent public sighting is thought to have been at Barron’s graduation from a Florida preparatory school in May. Alongside her husband, she watched from the stands as their 6’7” son received his diploma before moving on to a university that the family has yet to announce.
Polling data supports the notion that Melania is a significant asset to Trump on the campaign trail. She has hinted at the possibility of her imminent return to his side. Voters now hold a more favorable opinion of the former first lady than Jill Biden.
At a rally following the hush money verdict, Trump vowed to fight it on appeal while also noting the entire situation has been rough on his family.
“We’re going to be appealing this scam. We’re going to be appealing it on many different things,” the former president said.
“He [Judge Juan Merhcan] wouldn’t allow us to have witnesses, he wouldn’t allow us to talk, he wouldn’t allow us to do anything. The judge was a tyrant,” the former president said.
“We’re going to fight,” he said. “I’m wired in such a way that a lot of people would have gone away a long time ago. They would have gone away after impeachment hoaxes.”
He also said he was honored by the support he has received via donations to his campaign after the verdict.
“It’s not that it’s pleasant — it’s very bad for family; it’s very bad for friends and businesses, but I’m honored to be involved in it because somebody has to do it, and I might as well keep going and be the one,” Trump said.
