Where's Melania Trump? She's been off the Trump 2024 campaign trail recently. And it became especially noticeable to me after I asked Dr. Naomi Wolf, a political adviser, writer, tech platform owner, and COVID expert, what political advice she had for Donald Trump (see our conversation below). Her answer was to "foreground" women surrogates on the trail. She said the former president should get Melania on the campaign trail speaking to issues that everyday American women can relate to. But, save for a brilliant speech to new American citizens and attending Rosalynn Carter's funeral, she's been quiet. Why?
As PJ Media's Athena Thorne reported, tongues started wagging when Melania Trump missed the family photo at Christmas.
Melania Trump missing from family Christmas photo at Mar-a-Lago https://t.co/mWevV55NIU pic.twitter.com/2ZiLPSOCMv
— New York Post (@nypost) December 27, 2023
And on New Year's Eve Trump detailed why she's been quiet. Mrs. Trump has been with her mother, who's seriously ill and in a Miami-Dade hospital and in "a very tough" battle, according to the former president, though he didn't disclose his mother-in-law's illness.
Love this video - Trump @realDonaldTrump is speaking at Mar-a-Lago tonight on NYE and letting us know where Melania is and how we are going to turn it around and have a fantastic 2024! 🇺🇸❤️ Here we go, winning for the third time! haha!
— Jinee (@jineeminee) January 1, 2024
"My children are here, they're all here...… pic.twitter.com/3B0KGWuuyG
Thorne went more in depth about Melania's mother's illness and Melania's need for a quieter life. However, Thorne added, "Melania plans to ramp up her public appearances in 2024 as she starts pitching in to support her husband's re-election campaign."
Melania's public absence is an important story. Verbal snipers aim at the former first lady's disappearance on the campaign trail hoping there's trouble in Mar-a-Lago paradise. There is, but it has more to do with legal travails than marital disputes. Indeed, the David Brock/George Soros-funded 65 Project, CREW, and the rest of the "Get Trump" lawfare crowd would glory in any marital discord in Trump World. They're certainly trying to destroy these people. But Melania will be an important figure in the Trump 2024 campaign, if for no other reason than to stick it to these unethical jackals.
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Wolf told me on the "Adult in the Room" podcast that getting Melania out in public will be an important step in convincing the wine moms in the 'burbs that Trump takes their issues seriously.
Wolf believes Trump has "a woman problem"–either fairly or unfairly–and should put Melania out front. "It doesn't matter if she has an accent, many of us come from other places," she told me. Melania "is a smart woman. ... She should talk about her journey, any women's issues, her life as an entrepreneur, as a mom, and whatever issues are near to her heart," she advised.
Wolf warned that before Melania was treated more like eye candy and "was positioned as more of a Barbie" during the Trumps' first term at the White House, and that that "was a mistake." Some people might take issue with that characterization, but women who don't follow the Trumps may not know that this woman of substance began the hands-on Be Best program, gave impactful speeches on freedom in America, and was a force multiplier for Donald Trump. And yes, she's hot. That doesn't hurt either. Or does it?
Wolf said Trump should showcase everyday-looking women, not only those who can afford "hair extensions and false eyelashes." Trump "should showcase what conservatism offers women," Wolf said, "because suburban white women are the demographic that determine the outcomes of elections."
Trump has never been afraid to empower women in key spots. He put Kellyanne Conway in charge of his 2016 campaign. His daughter is more than a nepo-baby; she worked in Trump's White House as an avatar of women's issues. The former executive vice president for the Trump Organization was Barbara Res, who, though she later wrote a book trashing him, went to work for Donald Trump in 1980 and stayed for nearly 20 years. She took point on the construction of Trump Tower and headed other projects for the Trump Organization.
You can watch my interview with Wolf below. The entire interview about the Pfizer documents and COVID is quite interesting, and our conversation about advice for Trump starts at 47:00. Enjoy.
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