Donald Trump confirmed his wife Melania’s mother is “very ill,” which is why the former first lady was absent from his family’s Christmas and New Year’s festivities at Mar-a-Lago.
“Hopefully she’ll be recovering,” Trump said of Amalija Knav, who is being treated at a hospital in Miami, after mentioning he had just gotten off the phone with Melania (via video shared on X).
“Hopefully, that’ll be OK, but it’s a tough one, a very tough one.”
Trump, 77, said Melania “sends her love” to the crowd who gathered at his Palm Beach, Fla., estate to ring in 2024.
“She knows probably about 95 percent of the people in this room,” he added. “We just want to wish Amalija that she gets better as quickly as possible.”
He didn’t specify her illness.
Melania, 53, raised eyebrows when she failed to appear in a Trump family photo taken on Christmas — but a source quickly told Pvnew that she was away caring for her 78-year-old mother.
“Melania has always been very devoted to her entire family,” a source close to Melania elaborated to Fox News Digital.
“It should be no surprise that she spent this Christmas with her ailing mother.”
The photo included Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, Barron Trump, Ivanka Trump, husband Jared Kushner and their kids, Tiffany Trump and husband Michael Boulos.
Melania’s ongoing absences from high-profile events come after we reported she planned to step up her appearances in support of her husband’s bid for re-election.
“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 us.
“Melania realizes it’s her time to join the ranks of historic first ladies and leave her mark on history … She feels better prepared for her potential role the second time around,” our source added, noting that Donald’s immediate family are “solidly behind” his bid for the Oval Office.
Melania attended at Rosalynn Carter’s funeral at the end of November as well as a citizens’ naturalization ceremony at the National Archives in early December.
