By Wonderwall.com Editors
8:24am PDT, Apr 9, 2024
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Donald Trump has spent his much of his 2024 campaign jumping into every spotlight he can find. Melania Trump, on the other hand, became something of an enigma since her husband announced his third White House bid in 2022, making so few public appearances that a "Where's Melania?" banner was spotted flying above an Iowa football stadium last fall ahead of Donald's visit.
Now, the former first lady has made an appearance at her first official political event of 2024 — and announced plans to host her second.
On April 6, she joined Donald at a billionaire investor's home in Palm Beach, Florida for the Inaugural Leadership Dinner, a campaign fundraiser that brought in $50.5 million. (Keep reading to see a photo of her at the event.)
And on April 20, Melania is set to headline a fundraiser for the Log Cabin Republicans at the Trumps' Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, according to Politico, which obtained an invitation to the dinner. The fundraiser reportedly kicks off the conservative LGBTQ+ organization's "Road to Victory" program targeting swing state voters.
The Log Cabin Republicans are longtime allies of Melania's, per Politico. And the host committee is stacked with Donald's allies, including major GOP donors; Donald's former ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell; and Elizabeth Ailes, the wife of late Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.
At Melania's last official public appearance, when she and Donald cast their votes in the Florida primaries in March, she was asked if and when she might resume making the regular campaign trail appearances she did during Donald's first two runs for office.
"Stay tuned," she replied, offering no further detail. So where has the former first lady been until now?
Join us as we take a look…
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Asked why Melania Trump's been mostly absent from his campaign, Donald Trump told "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker in September 2023 that his wife would show up to support him when the time was right.
"Honestly, I like to keep her away from it. It's so nasty and so mean," the former president said.
"She's right now with [our son] Barron in school. She loves that boy. She's very popular, she actually is. And she'll be with us. She's very, very supportive," he continued.
"Pretty soon, when it's appropriate, but pretty soon. She's a private person, a great person, very confident person. And she loves our country very much. She'll be — she'll be at the appropriate time."
MORE: The best pictures from Ivana Trump's funeral
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On April 6, 2024, former first lady Melania Trump joined her husband, 2024 Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, at the Palm Beach, Florida, home of billionaire investor John Paulson for a major fundraiser dubbed the Inaugural Leadership Dinner.
The Trump campaign revealed it raised $50.5 million that night as major donors gathered for what was Donald's biggest fundraiser yet.
MORE: Photos of Melania Trump's transformation from model to first lady
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On Nov. 15, 2022, Melania Trump joined Donald Trump when he officially announced his third White House run at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
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On Nov. 8, 2022, Donald Trump and Melania Trump spoke to press while departing a polling station after voting in the U.S. midterm elections in Palm Beach, Florida.
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Melania Trump also joined Donald Trump when the family paid their respects to Donald's ex, Ivana Trump, at her funeral in New York City on July 20, 2022.
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Melania Trump stayed away from her husband's campaign trail and other official events for much of 2023.
She did, however, attend a memorial service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church at Emory University in Atlanta on Nov. 28, 2023. Every living first lady was in attendance.
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Melania Trump, flanked by security, was photographed arriving at Trump Tower in New York City on June 8, 2023.
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Melania Trump was spotted again outside Trump Tower in New York City a few days later on June 12, 2023.
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On Dec. 15, 2023, Melania Trump spoke at a Naturalization Ceremony at the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. The rare public appearance was tied to a naturalization ceremony as 25 immigrants were sworn in as U.S. citizens.
Donald Trump did not join her.
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Former first lady Melania Trump posted for pictures at the ceremony with Judge Elizabeth Gunn, left, and Archivist of the U.S. Colleen Shogan, far right, in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 15, 2023.
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Former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump arrived to vote in Florida's primary election at a polling station at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 19, 2024.
Melania also joined Donald at a Mar-a-Lago dinner for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in March.
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A few days later, Melania Trump joined Donald Trump at a golf awards ceremony at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 24, 2024.
Donald received two golf awards during the ceremony, though his prowess on the green has come under scrutiny since then.
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Melania Trump was much more involved in her husband's first two presidential campaigns than she has been in 2024.
On the campaign trail on Oct. 29, 2020, then-President Donald Trump watched as Melania spoke to supporters during a Make America Great Again campaign rally in Tampa, Florida.
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Melania Trump addressed a crowd at a rally in Wapwallopen, Pennsylvania, while campaigning for Donald Trump on Oct. 31, 2019.
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Melania Trump supported Donald Trump at a campaign event in New York City on May 3, 2016.
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Donald Trump gestured at Melania Trump on stage at a campaign event in Cleveland on July 18, 2016.
