New Delhi:

The former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci has made a stunning claim – that Donald Trump’s wife Melania is secretly rooting for Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris. He went on to claim that Melania Trump is supporting Kamala Harris because “she hates Donald Trump”.

Mr Scaramucci, in his recent interview on the MediasTouch podcast, claimed Melania Trump is even more enthusiastic about a Kamala Harris victory than he is.

Interestingly, Mr Scaramucci’s remarks come at a time when the former First Lady has been absent at husband Donald Trump’s political campaign rallies. She was seen only at a few fundraising events and the rally in which there was an assassination attempt on Trump.

Speaking with host Ben Meiselas, Mr Scaramucci claimed Melania Trump is far more keener than him to see Kamala Harris take over the White House. In a response to a question, he said “Maybe Melania Trump. That could be the only person I think of. Because she hates (Trump),” he said.

Mr Scaramucci went on to say that his wife hates Donald Trump too. “My wife hates Trump as much as Melania does,” adding jokingly that even the host of the interview is “nicer to Trump than Melania is”.

WHO IS ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI?

Anthony Scaramucci was responsible for all communications at the White House for a mere 11 days in 2017 – from July 21 to July 31, following which he was fired by Donald Trump. According to UK news website Daily Mail, Mr Scaramucci’s appointment led to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s resignation the very next day. Mr Spicer had voiced his displeasure about Mr Scaramucci being hired.

Within a few days Mr Scaramucci found himself in a major PR mess, soon after which then President Donald Trump fired him as John Kelly, the Chief of Staff at the time, questioning his credibility.

DONALD TRUMP TRASHES CLAIMS

Donald Trump has rubbished Mr Scaramucci’s comments about him and his wife Melania. Mr Trump dismisses his allegations saying his former aide is a bitter man who holds a grudge.

MELANIA TRUMP’S LOW ATTENDANCE AT TRUMP RALLIES

Melania Trump has been keeping a low profile and has hardly attended husband Donald Trump’s rallies. She is reportedly occupied with her son Barron Trump’s college education and spends most of her time in New York, where her son is planning to attend college. She has also expressed her fondness for New York.

Melania Trump is reportedly focusing more on family and personal milestones, than on Donald Trump’s 2024 Presidential campaign. On October 1 this year, she will release her memoir, Melania. Her office describes the book as “a powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has forged her own path, overcome challenges, and defined personal excellence.”
 

Donald Trump’s elusive wife Melania made a rare appearance at the Republican National Convention in support of Donald Trump’s third bid for the White House, but broke with decades of tradition by not speaking at the event.

Wearing Republican red, Melania, 54, walked, alone, into the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday accompanied by classical music.

She has kept a low profile during her husband’s 2024 White House bid. She had not been spotted in Milwaukee since the convention kicked off on Monday.

Last week, Melania issued a statement calling for unity following an assassination attempt against Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

“This morning, ascend above the hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence. We all want a world where respect is paramount, family is first, and love transcends. We can realise this world again. Each of us must demand to get it back. We must insist that respect fills the cornerstone of our relationships again,” she said in a statement.

It is traditional at party conventions for the candidates’ spouses to give a speech and tell heavily-scripted anecdotes about family life.

On Wednesday evening, Usha Vance – the wife of Trump’s newly-minted running mate JD Vance – did just that. But Melania skipped delivering a speech.

Ever since her husband was first elected in 2016, Melania Trump has broken all the rules of normal American presidential politics.

In the White House during Trump’s first term, she was a reclusive figure compared to other first ladies, focusing on a narrow set of interests.

And since her husband left office, she has not been seen by her husband’s side on many occasions.

She wasn’t there when he had his mugshot taken in Atlanta. She wasn’t there in New York when he became the first former president to be convicted of a crime. And she wasn’t there when he officially won his party’s presidential nomination, for the third time, on Monday.

The former first lady spoke in both 2020 and 2016 during Trump’s presidential nomination. She was accused of borrowing from Michelle Obama’s 2008 speech in her first appearance in 2016.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Police tape blocks a street in Bethel Park, Pa., that they say is near a residence of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter of former President Donald Trump, Sunday, July 14, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Law enforcement officials tell The Associated Press that bomb-making materials were found inside the vehicle of the man suspected in the Trump rally shooting. There were also bomb-making materials found at his home.

The two officials were not authorised to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

On the heels of an apparent attempt to kill him, former President Donald Trump called Sunday for unity and resilience as shocked leaders across the political divide recoiled from the shooting that left him wounded but “fine” and the gunman and a rally-goer dead.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee said the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting. His aides said he was in “great spirits” and doing well.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he wrote on his social media site. “Much bleeding took place.”

In a subsequent post on Sunday, Trump said “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”

“In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win,” his post said.

The FBI early Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as it pressed its investigation. An FBI official said investigators had not yet determined a motive.

Secret Service agents fatally shot Crooks. The gunman attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue at a farm show in Butler, the agency said.

One attendee was killed, and two spectators were critically wounded, authorities said. All were identified as men.

Investigators believe the weapon had been purchased by Crooks’ father at least six months ago, two law enforcement officials said. Federal agents were still working to understand when and how his son obtained the gun and to gather additional information about Crooks, the officials said.

The officials were not authorised to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Rising political violence

The attack was the most serious attempt to kill a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. It drew new attention to concerns about political violence in a deeply polarized U.S. less than four months before the presidential election. And it could alter the tenor and security posture at the Republican National Convention, which begins on Monday in Milwaukee.

Organizers said the convention would proceed as planned.

Trump flew to New Jersey after visiting a local Pennsylvania hospital, landing shortly after midnight at Newark Liberty International Airport.

A video posted by an aide showed the former president leaving his private jet flanked by Secret Service agents and heavily armed members of the agency’s counter-assault team, an unusually visible show of force by his protective detail.

Biden, who is running against Trump, was briefed on the attack and spoke to Trump several hours after the shooting, the White House said. “There’s no place in America for this type of violence,” the president said. “It’s sick. It’s sick.”

Biden late Saturday cut short a weekend at his beach home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to return to Washington.

Many Republicans quickly blamed the violence on Biden and his allies, arguing that sustained attacks on Trump as a threat to democracy have created a toxic environment. They pointed in particular to a comment Biden made to donors on July 8, saying “it’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.”

Officials said the counter-assault team killed the shooter. The heavily armed tactical team travels everywhere with the president and major party nominees and is meant to confront any active threats while other Secret Service agents focus on safeguarding and evacuating the person at the center of protection.

Washington:

Melania Trump said Sunday that a gunman who opened fire at a Donald Trump rally was a “monster,” as she condemned the assassination attempt in which the Republican presidential candidate was injured.

“A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion — his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration,” Melania Trump said in a statement shared on X.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the US Presidential poll, has been busy with the 2024 US Election Campaign. But if the 78-year-old becomes the President, he might not see his wife Melania Trump much in action.

Melania Trump has made a deal with the former US President, reported Page Six.

“Melania has made a deal with her husband that if he wins the presidency she will not have to be on first lady duty 24/7,” a source was quoted as saying. 

The report added that the former First Lady has made the deal as she wants to spend more time with her son Barron Trump. The 18-year-old will reportedly move to a University soon in New York City, and Melania Trump wants to help him adjust to the new life.

“She’s a hands-on mother, and is already planning to spend part of every month — and potentially every week — in NYC,” the source added. 

The source continued, “Barron has never been completely on his own before — and with the added stress of him being both a freshman in college and potentially the son of a president in a predominantly Democratic city, [Melania] wants to be close… The added attention he’ll get if his father is president worries Melania who is also concerned about the reaction at his school over Barron’s ever-present Secret Service [detail].”

Melania Trump has been “ an extremely protective mother” and she “even pushed back on the idea that Barron would serve as a Republican delegate to the [Republican National Convention] from Florida,” the report added. 

Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are polling neck and neck ahead of the November 5 vote as they attempt to woo any Americans still fine-tuning their decision.

Washington:

Donald Trump says his historic criminal trial was “very hard” on his wife Melania, a notable absentee from the close family members who attended court in support of the former president.

“She’s fine, but I think it’s very hard for her,” Trump said in an interview aired on Fox and Friends Sunday. “She has to read all this crap.”

“I think it’s probably in many ways, it’s tougher on my family than it is on me,” he added.

A jury convicted Trump Thursday on all 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign to cover up a sex scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels.

It was the first criminal conviction of a former president in US history and means Trump is now running in the November 5 presidential election as a felon.

While three of his adult children attended the closing days of the trial, Melania was absent throughout.

She has barely engaged with her husband’s White House campaign, failing to appear at a single Trump rally and rarely joins him in public.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

File photo of Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump.
| Photo Credit: AP

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump, will not be a delegate representing Florida at the Republican National Convention in July due to prior commitments, the office of his mother Melania said on May 10.

On May 9, a campaign official said Barron Trump, 18, had been selected by the state party as a delegate from Florida, a notable move given that he has kept largely out of the public eye during the campaign.

“While Barron is honoured to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party, he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments,” Melania Trump’s office said in a statement.

In Florida, presidential campaigns submit a list of proposed delegates to the state party, which in this case would have included Mr. Barron Trump.

Delegates are allocated following primary contests in each state. While the rules are complex, delegates are typically assigned to represent a candidate at the convention, where the nominee is officially selected.

Mr. Donald Trump is set to face President Joe Biden in November’s presidential election.