With her scandal-ridden husband’s Manhattan Hush Money trial fully underway now, former First Lady Melania Trump appears to have soft-launched her return to the public limelight with her first campaign fundraising-related public appearance, when she spoke at a rather quiet Mar-a-Lago event for Log Cabin Republicans — a pro-gay Republican organization.
Both Melania and Donald recently found themselves under fire from the former president’s most staunchly Conservative branch of supporters after the couple attended a high-profile and high-dollar Log Cabin fundraiser in Palm Beach earlier this month. However, it seems the ex-first lady didn’t let that deter her, as she stepped out sans her hubby this weekend to act as the headliner from the pro-LGBT, pro-Conservative group.
However, for all that time away from the spotlight, Melania didn’t appear to garner much attendance to the event, nor much of a rambunctious response from those who did show up when she made her entrance to the podium to speak.
In a video of the event posted to X (formerly known as Twitter) by former federal prosecutor Ron Filipkowski, Melania is introduced to the sparse crowd by gay Republican Ric Grenell, who served in the Trump administration and now serves as a “shadow secretary of state” for Trump. As Melania makes her way up to the podium, she’s greeted with a round of polite, yet extremely light applause from those gathered around to hear her speech.
Melania Trump begins her speech last night to the Log Cabin (LBGT+) Republicans at Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/cB4EvSCVN5
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) April 21, 2024
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As noted by The Daily Beast, “The crowd is so quiet that you can hear some version of hotel lobby muzak.”
The publication goes on to note that, “According to a source familiar with the planning, there were only about 60 people in attendance—including staff. The event was so small that the gathering was held in the resort’s tea room, right off the main living room at Mar-a-Lago. (A pair of weddings occupied the main ballrooms at Mar-a-Lago Saturday night, leaving the Log Cabin group with limited options, the source said.)”
“Also notable about the crowd was the gender breakdown. It was roughly 60 percent women in attendance, the source said.”
While the crowd was notably small, it was complete with several high-level names, including the likes of Trump attorney Alina Habba, Trump campaign senior adviser Lynne Patton, and Caitlyn Jenner, as well as Jenner’s manager, Sophia Hutchins.
Hutchins is a Trump 2024 surrogate, convention delegate, and a Log Cabin Republicans board member.
Speaking with The Beast, she called former First Lady Melania “electric” in her first solo return to the campaign fundraising trail.
“Melania is a very private figure, and her public appearances never disappoint,” she told the publication.
“I’ve been around Melania for over a decade, socially, and obviously since her husband entered politics. She’s always had that mystique about her. But whenever she gets into a room with people… she is electric, and we saw that on Saturday night.”
“She was truly electric,” Hutchins added. “Happy, energetic, and, I think, quite frankly, thrilled to be there with a group of people there to support her.”
Featured image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0
