The Trump Women All Showed Up to Support the Former President—For Now

The two then shared a kiss. Well, kind of. Sort of. A kiss attempt, let’s say.

Of course, a nominee’s family joining them for such a rarified occasion as becoming the nominee for a major political party for president shouldn’t be that unusual. But in this case, it is.

Melania has been largely absent from public life since her husband handed over the presidency to Joe Biden in 2021, shortly after he incited a riot on January 6 that ended with hundreds of armed supporters storming the Capitol building. Since then, she has done a handful of public appearances but mostly remained “elusive” and “private,” as the media has put it.

This is a marked difference from the first and second times Trump ran for president. For both those conventions, in 2016 and 2020, Melania was a featured convention speaker, enthusiastically endorsing her husband for president and posing for countless photo ops by his side.

Even more conspicuous, however, may be the absence of Ivanka as part of Trump’s campaign. The president’s eldest daughter was a huge part of not only his presidential campaign and administration, but of his life prior to January 6. There were very few things in Trump’s life—from The Apprentice to the White House—that didn’t feature the polished and articulate Ivanka at his side.

But like her stepmother, since Trump handed over the Oval Office, Ivanka has taken a large step back from her father’s endeavors. She announced her intentions to essentially quit politics in 2022.

“I love my father very much,” she wrote on Instagram. “This time around I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family…While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena.”