Melania & Trump's Rare Joint Appearance Has Everyone Saying Same Thing About Their Marriage

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Melania Trump appeared by Donald Trump's side on October 17. However, if anybody was hoping to gain insight into what's really going on with the Trumps' marriage, they were sorely disappointed. The couple sat poker-faced, side by side at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York City.

Still, given the rarity of their joint appearances these days, it's little surprise that social media seized the opportunity to dissect and speculate on their interaction. "She looks like she's at a funeral. Not trump's of course bc she'd be much more joyous," a commenter quipped on X, formerly Twitter. "Melania's thinking hard about how much she's getting paid for this. Donald Trump is trying hard to remember where he is and why all of his thoughts seem to tumble away from him like a stack of dollars dropped in a casino counting room. Who is he? Where is he? What's that light?!" another opined.

Melania finally made a public appearance with her beloved husband tonight. Just a couple of love birds having a great time. pic.twitter.com/0ABmC0DjDI

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 18, 2024

It's the first time the two have been spotted together since July, when they took the stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. There have been a slew of supposed reasons Melania stepped back from the spotlight, including the promotion of her memoir, imaginatively titled "Melania." But many don't buy them, believing instead that the former FLOTUS' absence is indicative of her political apathy and disdain for Donald.

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Few were surprised by Melania and Donald Trump's coldness during their rare joint appearance on October 17. Melania usually looks less than thrilled to be by his side and seemingly has little or no desire to interact with her husband. Detractors point to the times she's been spotted swatting away his hand despite his repeated attempts at affection, and body language experts claim there's no love lost between the two.

This has led to speculation about the possible reasons Melania and Donald haven't split yet. The general consensus between social media relationship "experts" is that they have a contractual marriage of convenience. Their latest interaction added fuel to the conjecture fire. "How much did Trump have to pay her to show up? For all his bragging he pays an awful lot of money for his ladies," a commenter wrote on X. "Melania only goes to events with Trump if paid," another declared. "It's a business arrangement. She's texting the other man, telling him she will see him later after leaving her paid event," a third quipped.

Meanwhile, Donald attempted to explain why his wife was AWOL in a September "Meet the Press" interview. "She's a private person, a great person, a very confident person, and she loves our country very much. She'll be — at the appropriate time — she'll be out there," he insisted.