Melania Trump’s Birthday Off to a Terrible Start

It’s Melania Trump’s birthday, with the former first lady turning 54 today.

Unfortunately, the celebrations are not off to the best start. It’s been a rough week for the former model, following her husband’s “hush money” trial, affair rumors and a “huge, historic” event at the couple’s Mar-a-Lago resort reportedly going wrong.

Newsweek has reached out to Donald Trump and Melania Trump for comment.

Donald Trump’s ‘Hush Money’ Trial

Melania’s husband, Donald Trump, is at Manhattan Criminal court for his New York “hush money” trial, where the 77-year-old is facing fraud charges.

Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, so the adult film star would keep quiet about a rumored affair ahead of the 2016 general election.

Trump allegedly had a one-night stand with Daniels in 2006, while Melania was pregnant with the couple’s son, Barron Trump. However, the former president has refuted the claims, along with denying the 34 felony counts against him.

The trial began on April 15, and Melania has yet to be seen in the courtroom. However, sources told the Seattle Times that Melania has privately called the proceedings a “disgrace,” equating the trial to “election interference.”

Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican candidate in the 2024 general election, after winning enough delegate votes in the presidential primaries.

David Pecker’s Testimony About Karen McDougal

David Pecker, a key witness in Trump’s “hush money” trial testified on Thursday.

The former publisher of the National Enquirer is an ex-friend of the business mogul. In his testimony, Pecker told the court that Trump previously attempted to purchase the rights to Karen McDougal’s affair allegations, along with other information the Enquirer had stored on him.

The Playboy model claimed to have a months-long romance with Trump, although the real estate magnate has denied the accusations.

Pecker said he withdrew from the deal due to concerns about the legality of the situation, adding that Michael Cohen’s payments to Stormy Daniels also deterred him.

Trump’s former lawyer Cohen confessed to paying Daniels the $130,000, with The Apprentice star reimbursing him via 12 monthly installments labeled as “legal fees.”

Pecker also refuted Trump’s defense that the alleged pay-offs were to protect Melania and his family, claiming they were in the interest of his 2016 presidential campaign.

“After Mr. Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency, did he ever express concern for how… Melania Trump would think of his affairs?” Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass asked Pecker.

“No,” the 72-year-old replied.

Mar-a-Lago Fundraiser Reportedly Goes Wrong

Melania Trump held a fundraiser for the Log Cabin Republicans Group on Saturday, which represents LGBTQ+ Republicans and allies. Guests included former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz and Elizabeth Ailes, the widow of Fox News founder Roger Ailes.

According to Page Six, tickets to the event sold for $50,000 each, with the funds going towards Trump’s election campaign and to support other Republican candidates.

However, Ron Filipkowski—a vocal Trump critic and editor-in-chief of The Meidas Touch—claims the event didn’t go as planned.

During an episode of his podcast, Uncovered with Ron Filipkowski and Anthony Davis, Filipkowski claimed Trump had Melania host the event due to Richard Grenell’s unpopularity among Trump supporters.

The fundraiser is usually organized by Grenell, who acted as United States ambassador to Germany during Trump’s presidency. However, Filipkowski claims the annual event angers MAGA due to Grenell’s sexuality, with Melania’s presence at the benefit softening the blow.

Melania last headlined the event in 2019, when according to Filipkowski, 200 people attended.

“Grenell hyped this up as like, this hugely historic event, that this is going to be a big momentum shift, that the gay community in America is going to rally behind Trump after this huge event at Mar-a-Lago,” he said.

“But nobody showed up. There probably was like 20, 25 people there, tops, and some of them were not gay.”

Although Filipkowski claimed around 25 people attended the fundraiser, Yahoo states that 60 people were present, including staff. However, according to Charles Moran—president of the Log Cabin Republicans—the event has raised over $1 million since it was announced at the start of April.