Melania Trump's former aide explains why she's been absent from campaign trail
Palm Beach, Florida - A former aide to Melania Trump has weighed in on why she has been absent throughout Donald Trump's presidential campaign for re-election.
On Thursday, former aide Stephanie Winston Wolkoff shared a screenshot on X of a Page Six headline that says Melania's absence at her husband's Super Tuesday victory party has sparked concerns of "marital woes."
"Melania Trump was NOT at Donald's victory party because she did NOT have to be," Wolkoff wrote in the post. "His supporters do NOT care if she is by his side or NOT, so now she does NOT have to be.
"NOThing more, NOThing less."
The night marked a huge win for Donald, as he officially became the Republican Party's nominee for president, and, despite what Wolkoff said, his wife's absence caused fervent speculation from both supporters and critics.
Wolkoff's comments, which seemed to be aimed at dispelling any notion that there is trouble in paradise for the Trumps, come into conflict with the former president's own promise that his wife would soon play a "big role" in his campaign.
Sources close to Melania have also claimed that she's planning a comeback to the public eye in 2024 in an effort to "join the ranks of historic first ladies and leave her mark on history."
Who is Melania Trump's former aide, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff?
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff was hired as Melania's aide after Trump won the presidency in 2016 and served in the role until February 2018.
After the duo's relationship went sour, Wolkoff wrote and published a book in 2020 titled Melania and Me, where she detailed her time working for the former first lady.
The "tell-all" book goes through the early stages of their relationship, where Wolkoff described Melania as "the sister I never had before," to the end, where she became far more critical.
At one point in the book, Wolkoff described Melania's attitude as "Pleasing anyone else is not my priority" and claimed she was dismissive of Donald's many scandals, once stating, "I know who I married."
"Her selfishness is so deep, it enables her to keep her distance from the rest of the world," Wolkoff wrote.
Later that year, Melania shared a statement, claiming that Wolkoff "hardly knew me" and "clung" to her after Donald won the presidency.
"This is a woman who secretly recorded our phone calls, releasing portions from me that were out of context, then wrote a book of idle gossip trying to distort my character," Melania wrote.
"Anyone who is focused on tearing things down for their own gain, after knowing what I stand for, has lost sight of what we are here to accomplish and who we are here to serve," she added.
Cover photo: Zak BENNETT / AFP