First Lady Melania Trump has not been seen in public since January 24, marking an unusual three-week absence from White House events and activities. Her last public appearance was alongside President Donald Trump during a visit to North Carolina to survey damage from Hurricane Helene.
The First Lady’s absence has become particularly noticeable during several high-profile White House events, including President Trump’s signing of the Laken Riley Act and meetings with international leaders. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and Jordan’s King Abdullah visited the White House, Mrs. Trump was nowhere to be seen, despite her previous warm relationship with Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan.
Donald Trump has addressed his wife’s reduced public role in the past, stating “I like to keep her away because it’s so nasty and so mean.” This approach appears to be continuing into his second term.
Mrs. Trump’s social media presence has also diminished. Her last post on X was a tribute to victims of a helicopter and passenger plane crash in Washington D.C. on January 29. Her official FLOTUS Instagram account contains just one post – her White House portrait.
The pattern of limited public appearances isn’t entirely new. During the 2024 campaign season, Melania Trump maintained a notably low profile, making only selective appearances. Kate Andersen Brower, a presidential historian, noted that “Melania Trump has been clear that she sees her role differently than previous first ladies.”
Even at high-profile family events, her absence has been conspicuous. At the recent Super Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, where President Trump made history as the first sitting president to attend the championship game, Ivanka Trump attended in her stepmother’s place to watch the Philadelphia Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs.
Most recently, Mrs. Trump was notably absent from a special dinner for Republican senators and their spouses at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. This continues a pattern of selective engagement that characterized her first term as First Lady, during which she often broke with traditional expectations of the role.
While Melania Trump has announced the reopening of White House tours starting February 25, 2025, she has not been physically present at the White House for recent significant events, including those in the East Wing, where the First Lady traditionally plays a prominent role.
Melania’s current absence echoes similar patterns from her first term in the White House, where she often defied traditional First Lady expectations. During that period, she did not immediately move into the White House after the 2016 election, arrived separately from her husband at various events including the 2018 State of the Union address, and notably did not invite Jill Biden to the White House after the 2020 election, breaking from the precedent set by the Obamas’ invitation to the Trumps in 2016.
This time, while she indicated she was “ready to move in on day one,” unlike her delayed move during the first administration, her public presence remains limited. She has expressed plans to expand her “Be Best” initiative, focusing on the effects of social media on children, and hopes to get more support from the tech industry. Unlike the previous administration, where Ivanka Trump held a formal role, Melania is now positioned to be the sole female family representative in the White House.
Melania has made it clear that she will be dividing her time between three locations, Washington, D.C., New York City, and Palm Beach, Florida, during her husband’s second presidential term.
In an interview with Fox & Friends, she stated that “my first priority is to be a mom, a First Lady, and a wife.” She emphasized her plans to spend time in the White House, Palm Beach, and New York City “as needed.”
The arrangement is influenced by her son Barron Trump’s current educational pursuits. Barron, now 18 and a freshman at Stern School of Business at New York University, will maintain a room at the White House for visits, but currently resides in Trump Tower in New York City.
Sources close to the situation indicate Melania spent the transition period “intensely preparing, studying foreign affairs and joining her husband for meetings with VIPs.”
While maintaining multiple residences, Mrs. Trump has announced plans for an active second-term agenda. She is working on an upcoming documentary about her life, which will be distributed by Amazon Prime Video, and has expressed intentions to take on a more prominent public role than in her first term.
