Melania Trump has been exceedingly elusive on the campaign trail this year, but she made an exception in April – for a $237,500 payout, according to her husband’s latest financial reports.
The former first lady made the rare appearance at a Log Cabin Republicans fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Fla., pocketing the whopping amount without even leaving her home.
Typically, the spouses of candidates are not paid for campaign events and fundraisers. They also are usually seen with much more frequency on the campaign trail alongside their hubby hopefuls.
Melania’s appearance, listed as a “speaking engagement” on the Trump financial documents, was strategic, a source close to the Trump campaign told The Post in April.
The former president’s 2024 campaign has aimed to put – and keep – Melania in the spotlight as often as it can to serve as a feminine, softer counterpoint to Trump’s brash style, the source said.
“The Trump campaign recognizes that Melania is their secret weapon,” the source said at the time. “Her appeal is critical to win battleground states and undecided voters, especially now that [Trump and his camp] won the primary and are hyper-focused on the general.”
But she has been largely absent from the campaign, with Trump ally Mike Lindell once running away from a reporter from The Post who asked where she was.
It remains unclear who forked over the $237,500 to get Melania to show up, which is a problem for campaign finance rules that ask for the source of funds.
It wasn’t the first time she has been paid for a Log Cabin Republican event, receiving at least $250,000 for an event held just after Trump announced in 2022 that he would run for re-election, according to financial disclosures.
Since April, Melania has made just a few appearances in support of her husband. In July, she attended the Republican National Convention, as well as an event for conservative gays. It is unknown whether she was paid for those events, as financial disclosures for July have not yet been reported.
CNN has cited a source claiming Trump ally Ric Grinell asked that Melania be paid for the latter event.
