Political commentators have claimed Donald Trump was left “humiliated” by Melania during a public appearance, saying she appeared to brush off his hand until steps forced her to steady him
US President Donald Trump was humiliated by his wife and the First Lady, Melania Trump, according to experts. Moreover, Trump’s latest blow was ignited by his attempt to “outrun his decay”, political analysts have said.
Joanna Coles, chief content officer for The Daily Beast, said during an episode of The Daily Beast Podcast on May 5 that Melania seemed visibly unimpressed with Trump during a public event. Moreover, Coles noticed that Melania only took her 79-year-old husband’s hand when they approached some steps.
Calling it a “semi-tragic moment”, Coles suggested it pointed to friction between them and that Trump appeared physically dependent on her.
On the podcast, Coles further argued that Trump is “decaying right before our eyes”. She also pointed to what she described as the president’s declining mental and physical condition, along with decisions she said appeared increasingly unpredictable.
However, one moment stood out to Coles, Raw Story reported. Last month, she noticed Trump gripping his 56-year-old wife’s hand as he went down a small flight of steps at the White House. While similar clips in the past have prompted speculation about his wellbeing.
Coles consequently suggested this incident underlined how much worse his health may have become. She said: “It was also fascinating watching Melania standing next to him.
“I mean, two weeks after she gave her very peculiar speech about not knowing Jeffrey Epstein, and there she was again. And he’s trying to reach for her hand, and she’s flicking it away, and then she finally takes it when they have to walk down the stairs, because she knows he needs to cling onto her to walk down the stairs.
“He wasn’t right next to a banister. So that was the sort of semi-tragic moment too, because her disdain for him was really very clear.”
David Rothkopf, a columnist for The Daily Beast, added that it was “horrible” to watch her flick his hand away, according to Raw Story. He said: “She’s sitting there stone-faced.
“You almost felt something for Trump in that kind of humiliation.” Trump and Melania have been together for around 28 years and married for 21.
The pair first met in September 1998 at a New York Fashion Week party at the Kit Kat Club in Manhattan, where Trump, then separated from his second wife, Marla Maples, was said to have been taken by Melania Knauss (born Melanija Knavs).
Reports of their early courtship say she declined to give him her number at first, instead asking him to give her his, and she called about a week later before they went on their first date. They briefly split in 2000 but reunited, and in 2004, Trump proposed on Melania’s birthday during the Met Gala with a 15-carat diamond ring.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters