Former first lady Melania Trump is none too pleased about her husband’s possible indictment, and has reportedly been "lying low" and avoiding events being held at Mar-a-Lago.
“Melania is lying very low. She hasn’t been coming out for the dinners and events at Mar-a-Lago. He is acting like everything is normal, but she hasn’t been social,” said an insider about the couple.
“She wants to be away from it. She wants to protect [their son] Barron.”
The New York probe is investigating Trump’s involvement in a hush-money scandal in which $130,000 was paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels on Trump’s behalf so she would not speak to the media about a sexual encounter they had in 2006; the same year Melania gave birth to their son, Barron, 17.
Daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, who are both former senior White House advisers, are also reportedly trying to avoid the former president’s legal drama.
“Ivanka lost a lot of friends and her social scenes during his presidency… They want to put it in the rearview. They want it behind them,” the source said, adding they are happy “building their life in Miami” where Ivanka and Kushner live in a $24 million waterfront mansion currently being renovated.
“They want nothing to do with this. They are staying away and don’t want to be hounded by reporters. I don’t think you will see them defending him, it will be no comment.”
Both Kushner and Ivanka were reportedly subpoenaed by the counsel investigating the former president’s role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Ivanka was also named in a fraud suit against her father’s company, which she denied having involvement in.
Despite his family cringing at his legal troubles, the former president is seemingly pleased by the attention he has received concerning his looming indictment. A source said Trump is “in high spirits,” and that him and his campaign team would like an indictment and an arrest to be “public” should it occur.
On Thursday, Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said he believes it is inevitable that Trump will be indicted, adding that the event is something that, in a rare case, is wanted by both the conservative and liberal parties.
“The left want to see him frog marched in his orange jumpsuit and the right wants to see him arrested because they think it will show that this has been a political witch hunt the whole time, and they think it will make Trump more sympathetic,” said Mulvaney in an interview.