Donald Trump Thanked Everyone in His Family Except Wife Melania in Mar-a-Lago Speech After Arraignment

Donald Trump sent love to his family — except his wife Melania Trump — during his first speech after his arraignment on Tuesday.

Trump delivered the message just hours after he was arraigned on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, following an investigation into an alleged hush money payment he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels while he was a presidential candidate in 2016. The former president pleaded not guilty to the charges.

During his speech from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Tuesday night, Trump thanked his family for supporting him amid his legal battle.

"I have a son here who's done a great job and I have another son here who's done a great job; and Tiffany, and Ivanka," Trump said in his speech, which aired on multiple media outlets. "And Baron will be great someday. He's tall and smart. But I have a great family and they've done a fantastic job and we appreciate it very much."

He is father to Donald, Jr., 45, Eric, 39, and Ivanka, 41, whom he shares with his first wife Ivana Trump. He also shares daughter Tiffany, 29, with ex-wife Marla Maples, 59, and son Barron, 17, with Melania.

During the speech, Trump, 76, spoke at length about the charges, stating, "I never knew something like this could happen in America. The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those that seek to destroy it."

His speech not only addressed the arraignment. He also spoke about previous accusations against him such as allegedly having Russia help him win the 2016 presidential campaign. He called out federal agents for searching his Mar-a-Lago home for nuclear documents and reiterated his claims that election fraud caused him to lose the 2020 race to President Joe Biden.

RELATED VIDEO: Donald Trump Pleads Not Guilty to 34 Felony Counts as Details of Indictment Are Unsealed

"This is a persecution, not an investigation," said Trump, adding that he's spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" on the case. "But our heads are held high," he said. "They want to settle the case, but I want no part of that. So here we are now."

Melania, who has been married to Trump for almost 20 years, was absent from Trump's historic arraignment. She also appeared to miss his speech.

Ahead of Trump's official indictment, sources told PEOPLE that Melania, 52, is continuing on with her life at the couple's Palm Beach home, despite the legal issues looming over her husband.

"Melania is leading her own life, and still feels happy being at Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by people who love her and who never talk about reality, or bad things about her husband," a social source told PEOPLE.

But that doesn't mean she's supportive of her husband's role in the alleged hush money payment, which stems from a rumored extramarital affair with Daniels. The former porn star has claimed the affair took place less than four months after Melania gave birth to Barron in 2006.

"She remains angry and doesn't want to hear [the alleged hush money payment] mentioned," the source told PEOPLE. "She is aware of who her husband is and keeps her life upbeat with her own family and a few close friends."

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The source added that Melania has been upset by the Daniels accusations since at least 2018 when the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had arranged a $130,000 payment to the ex-porn star a month before the 2016 election so she'd keep quiet about their alleged affair.

While Trump and his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen initially denied the claims of an affair, Cohen later admitted that there was a payment made to the porn star.

Calling it "a private transaction," Cohen told The New York Times that he paid Daniels $130,000 out of his own pocket in 2016. He said Trump had not reimbursed him.

Trump has since admitted he authorized the $130,000 payment but has continued to deny the underlying claims that the two had an affair or that the payment was in any way connected to his campaign.