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- Former first lady Melania Trump is set to return to the 2024 campaign.
- Her appearance comes with the convenience of taking place at Mar-a-Lago, her home.
- It remains to be seen how extensively she will campaign for Trump ahead of the election.
Former first lady Melania Trump is reportedly set to return to politics after a prolonged absence from the 2024 campaign trail.
According to Politico, she's set to speak later this month at a Log Cabin Republicans fundraiser held at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. Both Trumps currently live at the club.
The former first lady has largely avoided the campaign trail since her husband launched his comeback bid in 2022.
Last month, she told a reporter to "stay tuned" when asked about her role in the campaign going forward. The Trumps appeared together to vote in the Florida GOP primary.
Her absence from the trail hasn't gone unnoticed. It remains to be seen how extensively she will campaign for her husband ahead of the election. CNN previously reported that her role in the Republican National Convention had yet to be finalized.
"She's introspective and she's confident, she doesn't need to be interviewed by you to get ripped apart for no reason," Donald Trump previously told Megyn Kelly when asked about his wife. "She doesn't need to be out there. She's got confidence, she has a lot of self-confidence."
Melania Trump's whereabouts were noted during the GOP primary.
At one point, someone even paid for a "Where's Melania?" banner to fly over the politically important state of Iowa during a big fall 2023 event. Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee after easily besting his two biggest primary foes, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. Before Haley dropped out of the race, the former president took shots at her husband, Michael, who was deployed overseas and thus was absent from the trail ahead of the pivotal South Carolina Republican primary.
Political spouses are typically in demand as campaign trail surrogates, though historically some have preferred to stay away from day-to-day politics as much as possible. Former first lady Michelle Obama is so in demand in the Democratic Party that her office had to put out a statement dispelling a far-fetched theory that she would replace President Joe Biden on the ballot.
Both Trumps have established close ties to the Log Cabin Republicans, the leading conservative LGBTQ organization that remains ostracized by some parts of the Republican Party. The organization previously presented Melania Trump with an award in 2021. While the former president spoke at a 2022 gala that was also held at Mar-a-Lago.