28 December 2023 , 03:13
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Melania Trump 's absence from the family's 2023 Christmas photo has been explained following concern over the former First Lady's whereabouts.
The Trump family, including Donald, his children and their partners, posed in front of a giant tree in a grand room for the festive occasion. They are all dressed smartly in suits and formal dresses in the snap, which was shared on Instagram by Donald Trump Jr's fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle.
However fans were left puzzled by Melania's absence, despite recent reports that she plans to step up her public appearances ahead of Trump's 2024 election campaign. An earlier report stated she was attending to a family matter, however new details have since come to light.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, an insider confirmed she was caring for her ill mother at the time. They said: "Melania has always been very devoted to her entire family. It should be no surprise that she spent this Christmas with her ailing mother." Multiple reports state Amalija Knavs, 78, is sick in hospital, and former first lady Melania is thought to have been by her side.
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The Trump family beam in the Christmas photo, but there is no sign of the former first lady (Kimberly Guilfoyle/Instagram)
Melania is said to have spent the holidays with her sick mother (Getty Images)Observers were also surprised to see how grown up Trump's youngest son, Barron, is. The 17-year-old appeared to tower over his father in the snap, standing just behind him. The former president's daughter Ivanka wore a pink dress for the event, pictured with her husband Jared Kushner and their kids. Multiple other members of the family made appearances.
The party was held at the infamous Mar-a-Lago estate, where the former president was accused of stashing dozens of boxes of classified documents, some even in the shower, which has become the subject of one of the four major criminal indictments he faces.
Melania has been keeping a low profile recently, with many believing she's been trying to distance herself from her husband due to his many legal battles.
Page Six reported that she plans to increase her public appearances and is supportive of Donald's bid for the presidency in 2024. It would be his second term, but not consecutive, after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, then incited a riot at the Capitol and claimed the election had been stolen — the subjects of two other indictments the former president faces, one at the federal level and one in Georgia, where much of the fraud is said to have occurred.
"Trump and his family are so secure that he will become president again that insiders at Mar-a-Lago say he's reached an agreement with Melania to step up top-tier diplomatic appearances in 2024," a source told the publication.
Trump is currently the forerunner for the election, not just in his own Republican Party but nationally as polls show him beating out Biden — even among younger, usually less conservative voters.
One of Melania's last public appearances was at the funeral for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who died a few weeks ago. The ceremony was held in her home state of Georgia, and Melania was joined by other former First Ladies Michelle Obama and Laura Bush. Current First Lady Dr. Jill Biden was there, too.
She was also present at a citizens' naturalisation ceremony hosted at the National Archives a couple of weeks ago. But the exact reasoning behind her absence at the Trump Christmas celebration remains unclear — and only time will tell whether she'll actually appear more in 2024 ahead of what is set to be a groundbreaking election in November.