The White House announced Friday that Melania Trump will not join President Trump on his weekend trip to Camp David. With this absence, the number of days since the First Lady has been seen in public reaches 22. Her prolonged absence has many wondering whether or not we’re being given the whole story and concerned about her well-being.
Melania was last seen in public on May 10 when she and President Trump welcomed home three North Korean Americans who had been released from detention. CNN reports that the White House announced that she had been admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on May 14 to undergo an embolization for a benign kidney condition. The White House later announced that the surgery went well, and on May 16, FLOTUS tweeted that she was “doing well” and looking forward to returning to the White House. A spokesperson for the First Lady indicated that she would stay in the hospital through the end of the week. Doctors have indicated the hospital stay for patients undergoing an embolization related to a benign kidney condition is typically not more than one overnight. While First Ladies are not obligated to share information about their physical health with the public, Melania’s extended stay raised concerns.
This week, Melania tweeted again that she was doing well, but many have speculated that she didn’t write the tweet because the word choice and phrasing was different from what Twitter users have become accustomed to in Melania’s tweets . It read:
“I see the media is working overtime speculating where I am & what I’m doing. Rest assured, I’m here at the @WhiteHouse w my family, feeling great, & working hard on behalf of children & the American people!”
First lady Melania Trump will not join the President at Camp David this weekend, marking the 22nd day since she was last seen publicly https://t.co/RZEpI93WOS pic.twitter.com/ZgELOcJV4s
— CNN (@CNN) June 1, 2018
Followers were quick to post their doubts.
does not sound like she wrote it!
— Jutta von Sivers (@JUTTAV) May 30, 2018
I wish her well, I honestly do. She seems lovely – But who stole her phone?
— Butterfly Sonja? (@Butterfly_Sonja) May 30, 2018
I see Melania left Donald the password to this account in the divorce
— We Just Did – 46 (@MrsH___) May 30, 2018
From her smiling while speaking to her husband but immediately scowling when he turned his back on Inauguration Day to multiple videos of her refusing to hold his hand in public, rumors of marital problems have plagued the Trump marriage since Donald Trump took office.
Reporters asked President Trump about the whereabouts of Melania on Friday before boarding the helicopter to Camp David according to a report from The Independent . His response did little to quell concerns about FLOTUS. He pointed to the second floor of the White House and said, “She’s doing great. Right there. She’s doing great. She’s looking at us, right there.” When reporters turned to look where he was pointing, however, there was no sign of Melania looking out any of the windows.