The Obamas battered Donald Trump’s ego so badly in their Democratic National Convention speeches that Trump keeps bringing them up during his rallies. If he’s to be believed, Melania Trump has been trying to soothe his wounded pride by assuring him that Michelle Obama and Barack Obama are totally wrong about him. However, Donald’s recollection of an interaction with his wife is highly suspect.
Perhaps seeing the Obamas’ warm DNC hug made Donald miss Melania. Right before he shared an anecdote about his absentee wife during a rally in Arizona, Donald was bellyaching about the undoubtedly united Democratic couple. “They’re all nasty, nasty, people,” he huffed. After whining a bit about how the Obamas had attacked his character, Donald recalled, “Our great first lady says, ‘But you’re not that way, darling … but darling, you’re not that way.'” It’s unclear when Melania and Donald were having this conversation, as her appearances on the campaign trail have been rarer than an apology from her husband for anything. The question “Where’s Melania?” has even trended on X, formerly known as Twitter, and her disappearing act had Stephen Colbert speculating about her whereabouts on his show.
On “The Late Show,” actor Laura Benanti reprised her role as Melania. She portrayed the former first lady as being so desperate to get away from Donald that she attended the DNC. “There is no chance my husband will be here,” Benanti said while in character. But to hear Donald tell it, he and Melania have a relationship straight out of a sitcom.
Donald Trump tells a lot of dubious ‘darling’ stories
When Donald Trump spins yarns about his wife, he makes it sound like he’s married to Eva Gabor’s “Green Acres” character. One of his most unbelievable recollections of a Melania Trump interaction came during a June 2024 rally in Philadelphia. “I said, ‘I’d love to have some lovely bacon, darling,’ and she said, ‘No, I’m sorry. It’s too expensive,'” Donald recalled. Melania’s most expensive clothing items include multiple garments worth over $7,000 apiece, so is anyone really buying this story?
Donald shared a more plausible anecdote in October 2023. Per Newsweek, he told rallygoers in Iowa that Melania scolded him for mocking and impersonating transgender athletes. “She says, ‘Darling, I love you so much, but this is not presidential when you do the weightlifting, this is not presidential, or when you do the swimming thing,'” he recounted. He added that Melania isn’t a fan of his dancing.
Donald was telling “darling” tales as early as 2016. According to The New York Times, he claimed that Melania said to him, “Darling, you’re so brilliant, you’re so bright. Act presidential.” In a 2016 CNN interview, Melania admitted that she dislikes some of the things her husband says and has asked him not to use certain language. So, since she believes that her husband lacks decorum, maybe she secretly agreed with Barack Obama when he called Trump out for using “childish nicknames.” And if Donald wins the presidency, there’s one Melania story he could tell that would go unquestioned: his wife saying to him, “Darling, I love you, but give me Park Avenue.”
