MELANIA Trump was nowhere to be found at the 2024 Presidential Debate, fueling rumors that her and Donald’s relationship was on the rocks.
In a move that broke with tradition, the former first lady was notably absent after Donald Trump was seen arriving alone in Atlanta, Georgia, for their meeting. debate against President Joe Biden on Thursday.
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In contrast, Dr. Jill Biden, President Biden’s wife, was in attendance and rushed to the stage to greet her husband and accompany him to the moderators’ table after the debate.
She also praised her husband and said he did a great job despite the disagreement of the majority of Americans, according to several polls.
But Melania’s absence from the debate comes as no surprise to most who have been paying attention to the pair.
In fact, her behavior on Thursday is consistent with her notable lack of involvement in her husband’s 2024 presidential campaign.
She has already missed several major events, including the campaign kickoff in Iowa and Trump’s Super Tuesday victory party.
Additionally, she did not attend any day of Trump’s hush money trial in New York, to which he will be sentenced on July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention, where the official presidential candidate of the Republican Party is expected to be named.
In her last public appearance, the former first lady was seen at her son Barron Trump’s high school graduation in May.
Before that, she was seen at a campaign event a month earlier with the Log Cabin Republicans, an organization that represents conservatives and LGBTQ allies.
But when asked in March by reporters whether she would return to the campaign, Melania responded cryptically: “stay tuned.”
In light of his absence and behavior when the Trumps were in the White House, rumors have been circulating online about the state of their relationship, with many on social media already believing that their relationship has declined beyond the point of no return.
“[Melania’s] further distancing herself from her husband and the social political scene in Washington,” said Kate Andersen Brower, an expert on the White House and first ladies. The Independent.
She suggests that Melania may continue to distance herself from her husband’s political activities and possibly even the White House if he wins the election in November.
Katherine Jellison, a history professor at Ohio University who studies first ladies, also highlighted the unconventional nature of the Trumps’ behavior.
“Everything the Trumps do seems to go against the standard playbook for how candidates and spouses behave,” Jellison said. The Associated Press.
In addition to Melania’s absence, Thursday’s debate also broke with tradition in other ways.
Presented by CNN rather than the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates for the first time in more than 40 years, Thursday served as the first televised debate between a former president and a sitting president.
New, never-before-seen rules were also implemented due to the chaos of their last debate four years ago.
These new rules included banning a live audience from attending, muting microphones when it wasn’t the candidate’s turn to speak, eliminating opening statements, and even banning pre-written notes.
Expert Analysis – Impact of the debate
Measuring the impact of discussion with an expert:
Southern Illinois University associate professor of political science Ken Mulligan told The US Sun that “the elections are effectively tied; they are closer than any presidential election in decades.”
However, he believes Trump now has “the momentum and the advantage.”
He believes that although presidential debates generally do not have a large impact on election results, it could affect voter turnout as Biden and Trump are historically unpopular.
And while Trump is still “the most unpredictable candidate ever,” Mulligan believes Thursday night’s debate could feature fewer personal attacks than previous fights.
“Trump is now a convicted felon,” he added.
“But I don’t see that necessarily being a big problem for him, because most Republicans think these charges were politically motivated.”
But after Biden’s poor performance last night, it’s unclear whether Biden will remain the Democratic Party’s nominee — although he says he has no intention of stepping down from the race.
Potential replacements include Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsome, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips.
Assuming Biden remains the nominee, the next debate agreed between the two is scheduled for September 10 on ABC.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
