Comedian Martin Short joked about Melania Trump as he stepped in to guest-host Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday.
On June 24, a pair of "Melania-ologists" told Axios that the former first lady would not want to return to the nation's capital should her husband, Donald Trump, be successful in his bid for a second term as president, likely preferring to live between the family's luxury homes in New York and Florida.
"She's distancing herself even more from her husband and from the Washington social political scene," Kate Andersen Brower, the author of First Women and other books on the White House, told the outlet. "I mean, she clearly hated being in Washington."
While presenting Jimmy Kimmel Live! in place of the ABC show's titular host, the Only Murders in the Building star addressed the reports—quipping that he was obliged to make jokes at Donald Trump's expense, as comedian Jimmy Kimmel regularly mocks the former Apprentice star.
"The producers are saying it's time for my contractually obligated Jimmy Kimmel Live! Trump jokes," Short said. "It's apparently a must around here."
"There are reports that if Trump gets reelected, Melania might not live in the White House with him," he continued. "Apparently, Melania hated her time in Washington, but she still might come to D.C. for state dinners and official events. Yes, that's when she really comes alive."
"I actually have a little empathy for Melania," Short said. "I mean, [when] she entered into this marriage, she had a certain expectation, and that expectation was that the average life expectancy for an American male is 76.3 years old."
Newsweek has contacted representatives of Melania Trump for comment via website request form.
Age has been a major talking point in this election cycle. At 81, President Joe Biden is the oldest person to hold the presidency, and if reelected, Donald Trump, who turned 78 on June 14, would be the second oldest.
"Maybe if Trump wins, Melania can just move to Canada because, according to the story I saw today, there are plenty of Trump-like con artists up there, too," Short said, before discussing a report about a woman in Ontario who paid a man $46,000 to rid her home of "evil spirits."
Questions regarding Melania Trump's notable low profile have flooded social media for months. The 54-year-old Slovenia native was not seen in court during her husband's high-profile criminal trial, which took place in New York.
On May 30, Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush-money payment. The former president was accused of arranging, ahead of the 2016 election, for his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she alleges she had with Donald Trump.
The money was listed in the Trump Organization's records as "legal fees," which prosecutors said was part of an unlawful attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 race. Donald Trump said he reimbursed Cohen for the Daniels payment but denied all wrongdoing, saying the criminal trial was part of a political witch hunt designed to derail his White House bid. He also denied Daniels' allegation that they had a sexual encounter.
During the trial, Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, testified about the alleged encounter, which she said took place in 2006, one year after Melania Trump married the real estate mogul.
Though she was absent from the courtroom, Melania Trump has been photographed with her husband in recent months. On May 17, the former model and her husband attended their son Barron Trump's high school graduation in Palm Beach, Florida.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
