Former first lady Melania Trump made a rare public appearance alongside her husband, Donald Trump, as the Republican presidential candidate attended the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York City.
Melania arrived with the former president for the dinner in Midtown Manhattan, where he served as a keynote speaker.
The Al Smith Dinner is a white tie gala hosted by the Archdiocese of New York benefiting Catholic charities. It has become a major stop on the campaign trail for prospective presidents—though Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris declined to attend this year.
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Although Harris skipped, other New York Democratic Party luminaries were in attendance, including Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and New York Attorney General Letitia James—the prosecutor who led the civil lawsuit against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization.
The event also featured a set from comedian Jim Gaffigan, who made an awkward joke about Trump’s past confessed infidelities in front of the former first lady, earning groans from the audience.
“During the first and only debate, President Trump talked about taking cats and eating them,” Gaffigan said. “If you’re keeping track at home, this is the second time grabbing a kitty has been part of a campaign issue.”
Melania has not attended a major political event alongside her husband since the Republican National Convention in July. Trump thanked his wife in his remarks, and brought up the memoir she released last week.
“Can you believe she did a book,” Trump said. “It’s a really good book and she worked hard on it, it just became number one on the New York Times list; that’s an easy thing to do especially when your name is Trump.”
Melania’s plans to attend the gala were first reported by NBC News earlier on Thursday. A source with knowledge of the plan told the network she decided to attend because “it’s tradition.”
The same source said the dinner “could be a precursor to more activity.”
