Melania speaks out after Trump assassination attempt – 4 key takeaways

Melania Trump has been markedly missing from her husband’s presidential campaign and was a glaring absence during his recent criminal trial.

But now, the 54-year-old former model has stepped up to the mark following a history-making attempt on Donald Trump’s life.

In a letter published on Sunday, just hours after 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired a near-miss shot at the 78-year-old, Melania published a statement calling for her “fellow Americans” to “ascend above the hate”.

Her words have been met with approval and endorsement on both sides of the political spectrum – but what do they tell us about the enigmatic former first lady?

She will always put her son first

In the letter, Melania revealed her instinctive reaction to the horrifying shooting, admitting her first thoughts were not about the potential devastation of losing a beloved husband, but about the impact this would have on her son and her.

She wrote: “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.”

The 54-year-old’s commitment to her son has been well-documented, with Melania refusing to move into the White House for months after Trump’s 2016 inauguration because she didn’t want to uproot the then 10-year-old Barron in the middle of the school year.

Word choice is key

Of course, fans and critics alike have closely scrutinised the letter, with the latter seizing on one particular term.

In her fourth paragraph, she refers to her husband’s would-be killer as “a monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine.”

Some commentators have suggested that the use of “recognized” here was deliberate – and that she’s acknowledging that her husband is an “inhuman political machine”.

However, this theory is undercut by the rest of the paragraph, in which Melania highlights “Donald’s passion – his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration.”

She continues: “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. Let us not forget that differing opinions, policy, and political games are inferior to love.”

Donald Trump struck a defiant pose following the attempt on his life(Getty Images)

She’s clearly standing by her man

This statement proves that she remains behind her husband as he vies for the White House once more, despite her hitherto evasiveness.

The Slovenian-born US citizen repeatedly addresses her compatriots, using the kind of buzz words you’d expect from a presidential speech.

“We have always been a unique nation,” she writes, adding that the “fabric of our gentle nation is tattered” but that “our courage and common sense must ascend and bring us back together as one.”

If this isn’t a bid to tug on Republican heartstrings, I’m not sure what is.

Yet, striking a more broadly politically savvy note, she also stresses the importance of more universal points: namely that “American politics are only one vehicle that can uplift our communities.

“Love, compassion, kindness and empathy are necessities,” she writes.

In a further call for unity, she continues: “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.”

Hinting further at the crossroads facing Americans in the November election, she goes on stirringly: “Dawn is here again. Let us reunite. Now.”

She concludes her statement: “The winds of change have arrived.

“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.”

Our final takeaway

Ultimately, whether or not Melania penned this letter herself, the fact that she has given it sign-off proves that she is still in the picture.

Whatever her real relationship with her controversial husband might be, she clearly wants him to succeed in his aim to reclaim the US presidency.

And despite what her infamous jacket once said, she actually does seem to care after all.

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