First Lady Melania not seen in public for 3 weeks
WASHINGTON: After nearly three weeks out of sight, Melania Trump tried to put to rest speculation about her health and even her whereabouts as she continues to recover from medical treatment for a kidney condition. It didn’t completely work.
Mrs Trump tweeted on Wednesday that she’s “feeling great’’ and is at the White House working hard for children and American families. But she still didn’t make a public appearance, leaving some skeptics still wondering about her condition and plenty more.
The first lady’s tweet landed while her husband was participating in a White House event that seemed tailor-made for a first lady, as famous athletes joined President Donald Trump and his daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump on the South Lawn to promote youth sports and fitness.
“I see the media is working overtime speculating where I am & what I’m doing,’’ Mrs Trump said on Twitter. “Rest assured, I’m here w my family, feeling great, & working hard on behalf of children & the American people!’’
The first lady’s absence from public view has spawned all sorts of wild theories on social media and elsewhere: Has she moved back to Trump Tower in New York City? Is she cooperating with the special counsel’s Russia investigation? Is her health in jeopardy? Has she entered the witness protection program? And so on.
Mrs Trump has not appeared in public since the wee hours of May 10, when she accompanied the president to a military base in Maryland to welcome home three Americans who had been released from detention in North Korea.
Four days later, the White House announced that the 48-year-old first lady had successfully undergone an “embolisation’’ procedure to treat a benign kidney condition, and that there were no complications. She spent five nights at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in nearby Bethesda, Maryland.
First ladies are under no obligation to make their medical histories public, and the White House has said nothing more about Mrs Trump’s condition.
On Friday, the president tried to assure reporters that his wife was doing fine.
Asked about the first lady’s health before he boarded the presidential helicopter on the South Lawn, Mr Trump pointed to the second floor of the White House and said: “She’s doing great. Right there. She’s doing great. She’s looking at us, right there.’’
Despite Mr Trump’s assurances, reporters didn’t see any sign of the first lady watching from above.
Mrs. Trump is often viewed as a reluctant first lady, but her lengthy absence from public view comes after what was probably her most high-profile period in the role to date.
In April, she alone represented the administration at the Houston funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush. She joined the president to host the Japanese prime minister for talks at the Trumps’ estate in Florida. That was followed by the French president’s three-day state visit to the White House.