sashay away, please

Melania agrees to come out of hiding for a Log Cabin Republicans event (and probably a hefty fee)

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Melania Trump

After months of discreet movements and evasion, Melania Trump is returning to the political circuit. And the Log Cabin Republicans are to thank blame.

The group of LGBTQ+ conservatives, who often support extreme right-wing politicians with homophobic views, are hosting a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago on April 20. Mrs. Trump is set to appear, in what would amount to her first significant political event of the 2024 election cycle.

It is unclear whether she is being paid for her appearance. CNN reported last summer that Melania made over $1.2 million in speaking fees the year before, and that her going rate for a speech appeared to be about $155,000.

The ex-FLOTUS maintains close ties with the group, which honored her three years ago at Mar-a-Lago during a special dinner. Her husband, the quadruple-indicted, twice-impeached, one-term ex-president, also spoke at a Log Cabin Republican event held at his private resort and residence in 2022.

Up to this point, Melania has attended just two of Donald’s campaign events, and given a total of one interview… to Fox News… almost a year ago… since he first announced his 2024 presidential run 16 months ago.

“He has my support, and we look forward to restoring hope for the future and leading America with love and strength,” she said last May during an interview to plug her latest line of NFTs.

But so far, she has been coy about her plans. During a rare public appearance with Donald last month outside of a Florida polling station, she was noncommittal when asked whether she would be seen more often.

“Stay tuned,” she replied.

Prior to that, the last time she had been seen with Donald in public was when she refused to share a car with him after her mother’s funeral in January.

Last week, people close to the Trump campaign told CNN they didn’t know how much Melania planned to involve herself in the 2024 election.

“She’ll definitely have a role, but in terms of what that is, I don’t know,” said a source. “It is her decision on how much or how little she will be campaigning.”

One source said Melania intends to pick her spots, which implies she’ll probably spend the spring and summer around Mar-a-Lago, rather than flying to battleground states. She’s also yet to appear alongside her 77-year-old hubby for his myriad of court appearances.

“She is very selective and methodical in what she wants to do and how she presents herself,” said the person. “She is very decisive with these things and knows they have a lot of intended and unintended consequences.”

Related:

“It is her decision”: It really doesn’t sound like Melania will be campaigning for her husband this time around

The 2024 presidential election is just a few months away and Melania Trump has yet to take an active part–or any part, for that matter–in her husband’s campaign.

Donald, meanwhile, is at a loss for words when asked about Melania’s prolonged absence from his side.

“I think part of the beauty is that mystery,” he told former Fox News propagandist/failed morning show host Megyn Kelly on her podcast last year.

“She’s introspective and she’s confident, she doesn’t need to be interviewed by you to get ripped apart for no reason. She doesn’t need to be out there. She’s got confidence. She has a lot of self-confidence.”

But those closest to Melania say there is no mystery. Instead, there’s just apathy. Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, her former BFF and senior advisor, says the ex-FLOTUS remains opaque on purpose.

“If she says nothing, there is nothing for anyone to report. If she doesn’t give an interview, there is nothing for anyone to say,” she said on the MeidasTouch podcast.

And her ex-chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, says she was a highly disengaged First Lady. Brought to the White House against her will, she filled her days lounging around the residence in her bathrobe and making scrapbooks.

In fact, Melania used her office so rarely, White House staff reportedly turned the space into a “gift wrapping room.”

It remains to be seen whether Log Cabin Republicans will bestow gifts upon Melania later this month, when they launch their get-out-the-vote program titled “Road to Victory.”

The host committee for the event includes GOP donors Saul Fox, Amanda Schumacher and Richard Grenell, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence. During his brief tenure as acting DNI head, Grenell, who’s been described as a “self-hating gay man,” pushed a mountain of conspiracies regarding Barack Obama and the Justice Department’s Russia investigation.

While Trump campaigned in 2016 as ambivalent on LGBTQ+ rights–he famously said Caitlyn Jenner could use any restroom of her choosing at Trump Tower–his administration enacted more anti-LGBTQ+ policies than any previous administration in history.

He implemented a ban on out transgender troops, and tried to repeal regulations prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in healthcare, among other injustices.

But none of that appears to matter to the Log Cabin Republicans, who also support House Speaker Mike Johnson BTW, a man who’s argued gay marriage “is the dark harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy that could doom even the strongest republic.”

Melania, for her part, has previously claimed her husband sees “great potential” in gay people. No word on whether she’ll spout that rousing message at the Log Cabin dinner later this month.

Related:

Billionaire Ivanka Kushner is dumping Daddy Donald when he needs her the most

The former first daughter could seemingly help cover Donald Trump‘s $464 million fond in his civil fraud case, if she wanted to.

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