Melania Trump has taken a lot of heat for not being in court to support Donald Trump during the hush-money trial.
I have taken up her cause on this front, considering this is now the third time that she has had to live through this, and according to Trump, it is taking a toll.
Talking Points…
- Trump hush-money trial
- Trump opens up about toll on family
- Analysis
While the hush-money trial is centered around ledger entries allegedly mischaracterizing the payments, let’s not forget the root of all this. That being two different allegations of affairs by Donald Trump when Melania Trump was pregnant or in the recent aftermath of the birth of Barron.
Trump allegedly had an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels as well as former Playboy model Karen McDougal. The McDougal story had been purchased by an outside publisher, which the publisher claims was to gain leverage, which he stated was typical of what they would do at the time. Stormy Daniels was paid $130,000 via Trump fixer Michael Cohen, which he stated was to keep her quiet about the affair so it would not leak during the election.
When these rumors first hit, Melania Trump had to live through all of that. Then, when Trump was running for office, the wound was ripped open again, with Melania having to face down all of these rumors and talk of her husband cheating on her while she was carrying his baby. This trial now makes it the third time that she has had to live through this, so I don’t see how anyone can blame her for avoiding the courtroom and being forced to answer a slew of questions about one of the most humiliating times of her life. At this point, it does not matter if the story is true or not because most people believe Trump had the affairs.
Many Trump supporters are upset about Melania not being in court, and there were even rumors that Trump was upset about it as well, but he recently opened up on this front, saying how much of a toll this has all taken on Melania. Trump stated:
“So I think in many ways, it’s tougher on them than it is on me. They’re good people, all of them. Everyone, everyone.”
He continued:
“I have a wonderful wife who has to listen to this stuff all the time. They do that for this reason. They do that, all these salacious names that they put in of these people. And I’m not even allowed to defend myself because of the gag order. Think of it.
“But they put the stuff in there to create havoc. These are bad people. I know everything they’re doing. I know every move they make. I get it. But a lot of people don’t. But it’s tougher, I think, it’s probably in many ways it’s tougher on my family than it is on me. You know, she’s fine, but I think it’s very hard for her. I mean, she’s fine, but it, you know, she has to read all this crap.”
All of Trump’s other children expressed support for Trump after the verdict came down, with even Ivanka breaking her silence to tell her father that she loved him.
I believe Donald Trump needs to explore this more on the campaign trail to work the public empathy angle. Nobody will feel sorry for Trump, but they can empathize with Melania and his children. Conservatives adored Melania when she was First Lady, so this could really help Trump by portraying the Democrats as the bad guys who would make her life miserable and wreck his marriage.
Trump loves to play the victim, so rather than complaining about a cold courtroom, pursue this angle and really work the public against Bragg and the Democrats for trying to split up his family over this. Turn them into villains, for once, and make the most out of an awful situation. If Trump plays this right, he can completely flip the script and get some of those fence-sitters on his side, as well as drive fundraising.
