The official premiere of the Melania Trump documentary, Melania, took place Thursday night at the Kennedy Center in Washington. And while the event attracted much of the cabinet and other MAGA celebrities, some absences that night of prominent figures were noted.
Per Raw Story, a hot mic moment on the red carpet at the premiere listed several prominent people who were not there that night.
An unidentified person was heard listing several people who “didn’t show on the red carpet,” among them former Arizona candidate Kari Lake, Fox News host Bret Baier, former White House aide Kellyanne Conway, anti-trans activist Riley Gaines, FBI director Kash Patel, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro.
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These are all people with relatively busy jobs, mostly in the government, who may not have been able to attend a movie premiere in Washington on a Thursday night.
Also not present at the premiere was Ivanka Trump. Rumors months ago, had stated that she had been “banned” from the premiere by her stepmother, and while it’s not clear if that’s the case, she was not there. Per Newsweek, “Several key Trump family members skipped the event. A representative for Eric Trump confirmed he and Lara Trump did not attend. Barron Trump was also absent. Ivanka Trump, Tiffany Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not appear.”
Meanwhile, the film seems to be doing better at the box office than expected. Despite reports that some theaters in big cities had sold single-digit numbers of tickets, The Hollywood Reporter said Saturday that Melania is set to make $8 million in its opening weekend. It would represent the best opening weekend for a documentary in a decade, but still far short of the film’s reported $40 million budget, plus its $35 million marketing spend.
“Yet all bets are off when it comes to comparisons given the context around Melania, which is directed by the controversial filmmaker Brett Ratner. For one, Amazon MGM Studios plunked down $40 million for worldwide licensing rights in a deal widely seen as a move to cozy up to the White House. It’s also a play for Amazon’s streaming service, Prime, where it could debut close to President’s Day weekend (it could remain in theaters as well). Whatever the case, it makes Melania the most expensive doc in history,” the Reporter said.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
