First Lady Melania Trump made her first official public appearance in nearly a month away, as she joined her husband on Wednesday for a briefing on hurricane preparedness at FEMA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
President Donald Trump began by thanking his wife, who was seated next to him at the meeting, and saying she’s “doing great” after undergoing a successful kidney procedure on May 14.
“She went through a little rough patch but she’s doing great,” Trump said. “The people of our country love you. Thank you, honey.”
.@POTUS on @FLOTUS during a @FEMA briefing: "She went through a little rough patch, but she's doing great and we're very proud of her. She's done a fantastic job as first lady." pic.twitter.com/YwnYNDxi9X
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 6, 2018
The first lady wore a tan trench coat and her signature stiletto heels to the hurricane briefing.
NEW: First Lady Melania Trump makes first public appearance in 26 days since surgery. She’s attending the 2018 Hurricane Briefing alongside @POTUS pic.twitter.com/bKc361wVPt
— Ben Kennedy (@BenKennedyTV) June 6, 2018
It was Melania Trump’s second public appearance this week. She attended a White House reception for Gold Star families on Monday night, which marked her 25th day she had not been seen in public since the White House announced she underwent a kidney procedure.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bjn578Sh3So/?taken-by=flotus
At the time, spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that he first lady, 48, underwent an embolisation procedure to treat the kidney condition
“The procedure was successful and there were no complications,” Grisham said. She is however expected to stay in hospital for the duration of the week to recuperate.
Read more: ‘She’s in good spirits’: Melania Trump undergoes kidney surgery
Her husband complained earlier on Wednesday that speculation in the press has been “so unfair, and vicious.”
Trump tweeted that during Melania’s recovery from a medical procedure: “They reported everything from near death, to facelift, to left the WH (and me) for NY or Virginia, to abuse.
“All Fake, she is doing really well!” he wrote.
…Four reporters spotted Melania in the White House last week walking merrily along to a meeting. They never reported the sighting because it would hurt the sick narrative that she was living in a different part of the world, was really ill, or whatever. Fake News is really bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2018
Last week, Melania herself even commented on the media conspiracies via Twitter.
“I see the media is working overtime speculating where I am & what I’m doing. Rest assured, I’m here at the @WhiteHouse w my family, feeling great, & working hard on behalf of children & the American people!”