Is Donald Trump Exposing 'Tell' About Melania Relationship?

Former President Donald Trump's behavior toward former First Lady Melania Trump is a "tell" about their relationship, her ex-aide Stephanie Winston Wolkoff said.

Speculation about the relationship between the couple has grown in recent months, as observers have noted that Melania Trump has taken a less active role in his 2024 election campaign, which appears poised to pit him against President Joe Biden in November. Amid questions about the relationship, no substantial proof has been presented to definitively back up any theories about the Trumps.

Winston Wolkoff, whose relationship with the former first lady's family deteriorated over a controversy surrounding his 2017 inauguration, shared her latest thoughts on the Trumps' relationship in a post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.

"Let me bottom line this for you," she wrote. "Perception is everything to the Trump Family so Donald's lack of 'chivalry' towards Melania is quite a 'tell.' Chivalry for Donald was waiting for Melania to go first & ensuring she walked by his side. He's been doing neither recently."

Her post was accompanied by a video appearing to show the former president walk ahead, rather than besides or behind, Melania Trump during recent appearances.

The post went viral on X, having been viewed nearly 500,000 times by Monday morning.

However, there have been other instances stretching back as far as the beginning of his presidency of Trump appearing to walk in front of his wife.

For instance, when arriving at his inauguration in 2017, he exited the car bringing the couple to the event and began walking, rather than wait for her to exit as well.

In April 2017, Trump also sparked some criticism for exiting Air Force One, leaving a large distance between himself and Melania Trump. The Independent reported that some etiquette experts said this could have been viewed as a sign of disrespect and that he should have waited for her at the bottom of the steps.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign for comment via email.

Diane Gottsman, a national etiquette expert and founder of The Protocol School of Texas, told Newsweek on Monday said that Trump "definitely has a pattern," noting that he previously walked in front of Queen Elizabeth, breaching Royal protocol.

Presidents often walk "side-by-side, often hand-in-hand, with their wives," but that does not always "seem to be the case" for Trump, she said.

"The message is that he is either distracted, or lacks awareness, and definitely not focusing on Melania and her presence. He has a pattern of walking ahead, descending stairs, will not pay attention to whether or not Melania comfortably or safely makes her way down a flight of airplane stairs. He does the same on the ground," Gottsman said.

In 2020, Winston Wolkoff published a book titled Melania and Me that detailed her 15-year friendship with the former first lady, as well as her departure from the Trump White House.

She left the White House in February 2018 after it was reported that a company she founded had received $26 million for its role in Trump's inauguration and that she personally received $1.6 million. She disputed the allegations in a 2019 statement to The New York Times, saying that she wasn't fired and never received the money.

She has since become an outspoken critic of both Donald and his wife, frequently voicing criticisms against the former first lady on X. In November, for instance, she published a message about the Trump family's alleged "betrayal."

"BETRAYAL is the norm in Trump World - even to FAMILY. As soon as you raise the alarm about their nefarious activities they make sure to cast you in an unflattering light & GAG you from speaking the truth with false accusations, non-disclosure agreements, & subpoenas," Winston Wolkoff wrote.