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Where is Melania Trump? Their rare appearances before Election Day 2024

Melania Trump's campaign appearances were rare. She may have helped son Barron Trump prepare for college in New York.

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  • During the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, Melania Trump appeared at many of her husband's campaign stops. Not so in 2024.

When she was First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump was in the public eye.

With her husband now seeking re-election, Mrs. Donald Trump has kept a low profile for most of the time.

On Sunday, October 27, the former first lady made a rare appearance at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden — and the crowd went wild. SpaceX founder Elon Musk, one of Donald Trump's biggest supporters, introduced Melania Trump as the “First Lady of the USA”. She then walked out and waved to the music of “Paradise City” by Guns N Roses.

The former model and longtime wife of reality star Donald Trump has not made an official campaign appearance since the Republican National Convention last summer (see list below).

Melania Trump has been mourning the loss of her mother Amalija Knavs since January. And she probably prepared Barron Trump, her only son with Donald Trump, for college after he graduated from Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. 18-year-old Barron Trump chose New York University.

Photos: Melania Trump's mother's funeral took place in the same church where Donald and Melania were married

But while Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, travels the country for rallies and speeches, Melania Trump has been noticeably absent. It contrasts with the 2016 and 2020 elections, when she made several public appearances alongside her husband.

When an attempted assassination attempt on Donald Trump occurred in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, the former First Lady released a statement the next day expressing her thoughts and concerns: “When I saw this Fierce bullet hit my husband Donald “It became clear to me that my life and Barron's life were on the verge of a devastating change,” she wrote in a statement. “A monster who recognized in my husband an inhuman political machine tried to express Donald's passion – his laughter, his ingenuity, his love of music and his inspiration,” wrote Melania Trump. “The core aspects of my husband’s life – his human side – were buried under the political machine. Donald, the generous and caring man I was with in the best and worst of times.”

Less than a week after the attempted assassination, Melania Trump made a surprise appearance at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. This time, she didn't give a speech like she did at the 2020 RNC in Washington, DC, but instead chose to sit in the Trump family box and later stand on stage with Donald Trump as he formally accepted the Republican nomination.

Barron Trump was the only immediate Trump family member not to attend the 2024 RNC.

Barron Trump reportedly did not attend the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 27, despite it being less than three miles from New York University. However, this past weekend was NYU Alumni and Family Weekend. It is unknown whether Donald and Melania Trump attended their only son's college event.

Here's a roundup of notable 2024 campaign events attended by Melania Trump on behalf of her husband, Donald Trump.

Class of 2028? Barron Trump attended a New York college, not UPenn or Georgetown, breaking family tradition

Melania Trump attended the Trumpettes Gala at Mar-a-Lago in Florida

On February 10, 2024, Melania Trump and former President Donald Trump attended a Trumpettes gala at Mar-a-Lago, the family's private club in Palm Beach, Florida. She accompanied him when he spoke to the Trumpettes fan club in February and then to a dinner the former president hosted for Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán.

On a primary election day in 2024, Donald and Melania Trump cast their votes in Palm Beach, Florida

On March 19, 2024, the day of the presidential election in Florida, Donald and Melania Trump cast their votes at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, Florida. “Stay tuned,” the former first lady said with a smile when asked about a return to presidential campaign politics.

According to the Palm Beach Post, the polling station appearance is a rarity: Melania Trump has largely stayed out of the spotlight while her husband is running for president for the third time, and she also did not attend his “Super Tuesday” election victory party that night her husband won more than a dozen primaries to get within reach of a third straight Republican presidential nomination.

Melania Trump attends Trump's “Awards Night” as Jack Nicklaus presents him with the Most Improved Player award.

On March 24, 2024, Donald and Melania Trump attended the 2024 Senior Club Championship awards ceremony in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the former president added two more wins to his long, self-proclaimed list, stating on his social media page, that he had not won not only the club championship, but also the senior club championship at his golf course in West Palm Beach. According to The Hill and Tom D'Angelo's column in Golfweek, a USA TODAY publication, Trump's statement, which took place during the Trump International awards night, was mocked online by President Biden: “Congratulations, Donald. A real achievement,” Biden wrote. At the awards ceremony, attended by Melania Trump, Jack Nicklaus presented Donald Trump with the 2024 Trump International Golf Club Most Improved Player award.

Melania Trump attends a fundraiser at billionaire John Paulson's home

On April 6, 2024, Donald and Melania Trump arrived at billionaire investor John Paulson's home in Palm Beach, Florida. The Palm Beach Post reported that the Trump campaign is expected to rake in $33 million from the hedge fund guru's gathering. According to an invite obtained by USA TODAY, the small group of billionaires there included sugar mogul Jose “Pepe” Fanjul of Palm Beach County; Palm Beach resident and former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross; Howard Lutnick, head of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald; mega-GOP donors Rebekah and Robert Mercer; Todd Ricketts, co-owner of the Chicago Cubs; investment banker Warren Stephens; and real estate tycoon Steve Witkoff.

The entry price for the invitation was $250,000 with a maximum contribution of $814,600, according to the April 2024 Palm Beach Post article.

Melania Trump hosts fundraisers for Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBTQ+-friendly conservative group

Despite the group's complicated history with her husband, Melania Trump hosted a fundraiser for the Log Cabin Republicans at Mar-a-Lago on April 20, 2024. Less than three months later, the former first lady hosted another Log Cabin Republicans fundraiser in New York on July 8, 2024. Donald Trump spoke to the conservative gay rights organization at the December 2022 gala, also held at his club in Palm Beach.

The Log Cabin Republicans describes itself as “the largest Republican organization in the country dedicated to representing LGBTQ+ conservatives and allies.” In 2016, they refused to support the former president, but in the 2020 election, the Log Cabin Republicans endorsed him, reversing their previous stance, according to USA TODAY. The group's executive director, Jerri Ann Henry, resigned shortly afterwards.

However, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee has drawn criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates for frequently ridiculing transgender athletes in his rally speeches. The Palm Beach Post reported that at an event in West Palm Beach in the fall of 2023, Donald Trump said the former first lady didn't like it when he performed a certain “routine” – one in which he made fun of a transgender weightlifter do – and said she told him it wasn’t presidential.

Log Cabin Republicans and Trump: Who is the LGBTQ+ friendly conservative group?

Melania Trump is making a rare appearance at the 2024 Republican National Convention

On July 18, 2024, the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Melania Trump made a rare appearance, wearing a red suit and waving to the crowd.

In 2020, the first family — Melania Trump, Barron Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump — attended the RNC together to support former President Donald Trump. At the 2024 RNC, most of the Trump family was in attendance, except for one: Barron Trump.

Although she didn't give a speech like she did at the 2016 and 2020 RNCs, Melania Trump sat in the Trump family box at the 2024 RNC. She also surprised her husband on stage in a virally awkward moment after Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination.

Melania Trump attended the controversial Trump rally at Madison Square Garden ahead of Election Day 2024

Donald Trump held a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, October 27th. Melania Trump made a surprise appearance there. Coincidentally, Barron Trump's college, NYU, was hosting its alumni and family weekend less than a few miles away.

The Trump rally was controversial because Donald Trump made inappropriate digs at Democrats and because a comedian called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” at the beginning. The Trump campaign distanced the candidate from the racist comment, saying it did not reflect his views.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk, one of Donald Trump's biggest supporters, introduced Melania Trump as the “First Lady of the United States.” She walked in to the music of Guns N Roses' “Paradise City” and later posted a clip of the viral moment on X, Musk's social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Contributor: Kate Kealey, USA TODAY Network; Kinsey Crowley and Margie Cullen, USA TODAY; Tom D'Angelo, Palm Beach Post

Antonio Fins is political and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Keep following her Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

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