Where is Melanie? Not at the first Trump vs. Biden debate

Melania Trump is seen leaving Trump Tower on June 21, 2024.
Photo: GC Images

Melania Trump has been so noticeably absent from Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign events and court proceedings that people have started shouting “Where’s Melania?” to the former president both online and in real life. But refusing to “stand by your man” after he was convicted of crimes related to paying hush money to a porn star is a lot different than skipping one of only two 2024 presidential debates. Melania wouldn’t skip her husband’s debate with Joe Biden on Thursday night, would she?

Well, apparently she would! The first sign that Melania might not participate in the CNN debate came Thursday afternoon, when Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, repeatedly refused to say whether the former first lady was flying with her husband for Atlanta. “No specific names to read to you about who is on this flight,” Leavitt told NBC News. “But you’ll find out very soon when they land!”

When Trump landed at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport around 5:30 p.m., Melania was not at his side.

We don’t know for sure if Melania Trump is not in Atlanta, even though CNN ran the message “MELANIA TRUMP IS NOT ATTENDING THE DEBATE” about a half-hour before the event began. Theoretically, Melania could have driven in from Mar-a-Lago or gotten off the plane in a cart like Taylor Swift did on the Eras tour. But a surprise appearance seems unlikely at this point. There will be no audience at the debate, so if Melania wanted to show her support for her husband’s campaign, getting off the plane with him might have been her only opportunity.

First Lady Jill Biden was spotted arriving in Atlanta with President Biden on Thursday afternoon. She then stopped at a Biden-Harris fundraising retreat in downtown Atlanta, where she fired up the crowd. “We’re almost there. I know Joe is ready to go,” she said. “He’s ready; he’s confident. You all saw him today. You know what a great debater he is.” She will watch the debate from a green room with Biden advisers.

There will be at least one member of the Trump family at the debate, but they will be of no comfort to the former president. New York Times reported that his ex-niece, Mary Trump, is reportedly working in the spin room on behalf of the Biden campaign.