First lady 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 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 at the @WhiteHouse 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 “embolization” procedure to treat a benign kidney condition, and that there were no complications. She spent five nights at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in nearby Bethesda, Maryland. Some doctors familiar with the procedure but not involved in her care said people treated with embolization typically are sent home the same day or the next.

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, 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 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.

Her popularity is rising, according to a recent CNN poll that found 57 percent of those surveyed saying they have a favorable impression of her, up from 47 percent in January.