Former US President Donald Trump has addressed his wife’s absence from a family Christmas photo that sparked speculation that there was trouble in their marriage.
The photo, taken at Mar-a-Lago, featured most of the Trump family, including their 17-year-old son Barron, Melania’s father, and other family members.
Speaking to a crowd at a New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump said Melania was absent because she is currently at her mother’s side at a nearby hospital.
He confirmed Melania’s mother Amalija Knavs, 78, is ‘very ill’ and the situation has been ‘tough’ for their family as the former first lady was forced to miss the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
‘Hopefully, she’ll be recovering,’ the former president said after mentioning he had just gotten off the phone with Melania who is at a Miami hospital with her sick mother.`
”It’s a tough one, a very tough one,’ Trump continued, saying Melania ‘sends her love’ to all the people gathered in Palm Beach, Florida.
‘She knows about 95 percent of the people in this room,’ he said, prompting cheers from the partygoers.
The New Year’s Eve celebration included entertainment by Vanilla Ice, who performed his greatest hits on stage while Trump stood motionless behind his chair in the middle of the ballroom.
‘The New Year’s Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago was awesome. We danced we celebrated. We had a great time,’ he said afterwards.
