Melania Trump's Ex-Aide Slams 'Pathetic' Campaign Excuse

An "excuse" as to why former first lady Melania Trump is not regularly campaigning alongside husband ex-President Donald Trump has been slammed as "pathetic" by her former close friend and aide.

Melania's frequent absences from Trump events during the presidential campaign has raised eyebrows among political observers since the ex-president in November 2022 officially announced his repeat attempt at winning a second term.

An anonymous source claimed in a report published by The Independent on Saturday that the former first lady's absence from the campaign was due to her concerns that she had been "betrayed by her staff" during her first White House residency.

The source cited the "tell-all" 2020 book Melania and Me by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Melania's supposed former "best friend" and her first hire following the surprise 2016 Trump election win.

Winston Wolkoff left her position at the White House in February 2018 after her relationship with Melania crumbled. On Monday, she offered a scathing rebuke to the report's claims that she had "burnt" the former first lady in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

"The AUDACITY!" Winston Wolkoff wrote. "For any human being to make EXCUSES for Melania Trump not campaigning with Donald because she 'felt betrayed by her staff' is PATHETIC."

"Melania LIED & watched the media & her WH CRUCIFY me & then she used her DOJ to try and SILENCE me," she added. "EVIL!"

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Trump campaign via email on Tuesday night.

During a rare public appearance in Palm Beach, Florida, last month, Melania told reporters to "stay tuned" when asked about whether she planned on campaigning for her husband prior to the November election, which is expected to be a rematch with President Joe Biden.

Winston Wolkoff later shared a video clip of the former first lady making the remark on X, alongside the following comment: "Let me interpret this for you: DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATHE! [sic]"

The video of Melania's rare appearance went viral following months of speculation on her whereabouts and false rumors that she had been "missing," sparked in part by her failure to show during a Trump New Year's Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago.

The former president later explained that his wife had not been at the party due a serious illness suffered by her mother Amalija Knavs, who died less than two weeks later on January 9.

Winston Wolkoff left her unpaid position as Melania's aide following the publication of a New York Times report on her company, WIS Services, reportedly being paid $26 million to organize Trump's inauguration.

The Department of Justice later investigated the payment. Winston Wolkoff claimed that she had been "scapegoated" and had only received a fee of $1.6 million.