A Rolling Stone writer speculated on Twitter that First Lady Melania Trump could be the victim of spousal abuse by President Donald Trump, hence her recent public absence.
Melania Trump has not made a public appearance since a five-day hospital stay in mid-May following surgery for a kidney condition. She will not travel with the president for the G7 summit in Quebec this week, and there are also no plans for her to join him in Singapore for his June 12 meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Her last appearance in an official capacity was on May 10, welcoming back three Americans imprisoned by North Korea.
White House silence about her subsequent absence from public appearances with the president stoked conspiracy theories, and Rolling Stone's Jamil Smith came out with another one on Sunday.
"I wish that I didn’t suspect that the prolonged, poorly explained public absence of Melania Trump could be about concealing abuse," Smith tweeted. "I wish that it was a ludicrous prospect. I wish that the @POTUS wasn’t a man with a history of abusing women, including those to whom he is married."
I wish that I didn’t suspect that the prolonged, poorly explained public absence of Melania Trump could be about concealing abuse. I wish that it was a ludicrous prospect. I wish that the @POTUS wasn’t a man with a history of abusing women, including those to whom he is married.
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) June 3, 2018
CNBC reporter Eamon Javers tweeted last week he had seen the first lady walking with her aides in the West Wing.
Not that this will deter the conspiracy theorists, but I saw the First Lady walking with her aides in the West Wing yesterday afternoon. https://t.co/N9xadq7P0d
— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) May 30, 2018
I did see her here with her aides and Secret Service agents, but it was in an area of the West Wing where we are not allowed to take pictures. It’s a high security environment!
— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) June 1, 2018
The White House announced on Sunday that Melania Trump will co-host an event with her husband for Gold Star families Monday night at the White House.