First lady Melania Trump has been laying low for several weeks after her recent kidney surgery and journalists are ripe with speculation about where she is hiding.
Politico ran an article Tuesday explaining that “the directive to reveal less, not more, has been coming straight from the first lady.”
“Melania Trump is nonplussed by any attention, people close to her said,” Annie Karnie writes. “And she views most of the questions about her health not as driven by real concern, but by nosiness.”
Melania’s spokesperson has also repeatedly stated that the first lady is in good condition after the surgery, but that hasn’t stopped the media from speculating about Melania’s health and whereabouts.
First Lady Melania Trump has not been seen in public since undergoing a medical procedure to treat what the White House has said was a “benign kidney condition.” https://t.co/fqNm8KghTl pic.twitter.com/ucVe7LyeJK
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) May 30, 2018
What has happened to Melania Trump? Conspiracy theorists discuss the first lady’s absence https://t.co/F9qz5V2fL4 pic.twitter.com/NE9Ajhz1HK
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) May 30, 2018
“It’s weird, right?” a contributor for Esquire asked.
not super pressed that melania is missing, but it’s weird, right ?
— Pete Forester (@pete_forester) May 30, 2018
“Has she left the White House?” The Root speculated.
It’s been 20 days since the public last saw Melania Trump. Has she left the White House? https://t.co/ClIKqw8XM7 pic.twitter.com/kXy7fuBZTg
— The Root (@TheRoot) May 30, 2018
This morning, Melania Trump’s spokeswoman told me the first lady “is doing great” despite the fact she hasn’t been seen in public for 20 days. https://t.co/Z9nhQyZpsQ
— John Haltiwanger (@jchaltiwanger) May 30, 2018
It was funny at first, but there’s been a lot of stories about how no one has seen Melania in three weeks and you’d think it would be easy to roll her out & yell HA HA FAKE NEWS but they haven’t so even I am starting to think…wait seriously where is the president’s wife though?
— Catherynne Valente (@catvalente) May 30, 2018
Business Insider insisted that “people are starting to get concerned” about the first lady’s absence from the public sphere.
Melania Trump hasn’t been seen in public for weeks and people are starting to get concerned https://t.co/O6eeqTm59v pic.twitter.com/3QJAW9twfp
— Business Insider (@businessinsider) May 30, 2018
Melania Trump hasn’t appeared in public for 20 days @CNNPolitics https://t.co/MY6wUHJcAA
— David P Gelles (@gelles) May 30, 2018
“Sadly, we deal with conspiracy theories all the time, so this is nothing new, just more silly nonsense,” Stephanie Grisham, Melania’s spokesperson, told CNN. “She is doing great. I wouldn’t characterize it as a long absence. She was hospitalized for almost a week and is now home and recovering.”