Former first lady Melania Trump has issued a rare comment in response to an assassination attempt on her husband.
In a two-page statement, the famously reticent former first lady thanked the Secret Service, expressed condolences to the victims killed and injured by the shooting at Saturday’s rally, and praised former President Donald Trump’s personal qualities. She also called for Americans to come together across political divides.
The former first lady, who has always been protective of her 18-year-old son, Barron, named him in her statement.
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“When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change,” Melania Trump wrote. “I am grateful to the brave secret service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives to protect my husband. To the families of the innocent victims who are now suffering from this heinous act, I humbly offer my sincerest sympathy.”
Melania Trump has been absent from her husband’s side throughout much of this year’s campaign. The former president said his hush-money trial this spring, which centered on an alleged cover-up of an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, was “very hard” on her.
But Sunday’s statement marks one of only a few recent occasions when the public has gotten to hear about the relationship in Melania Trump’s own words.
“A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion—his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration,” she wrote. “The core facets of my husband’s life—his human side—were buried below the political machine. Donald, the generous and caring man who I have been with through the best of times and the worst of times.”
The former first lady begged Americans to look past their differences in the wake of the violence.
“American politics are only one vehicle that can uplift our communities,” she said. “Love, compassion, kindness, and empathy are necessities. And let us remember that when the time comes to look beyond the left and the right, beyond the red and the blue, we all come from families with the passion to fight for a better life together, while we are here, in this earthly realm.”
“This morning, ascend above the hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence,” she urged.
She also suggested she had heard kind words from her husband’s political opponents.
“For those of you who cry in support, I thank you. I commend those of you who have reached out beyond the political divide—thank you for remembering that every single politician is a man or woman with a loving family.”
Melania is expected to attend the Republican National Convention next week, although she is not currently on the speaking schedule.
