Melania Trump marked another tough birthday as she joined President Donald Trump at Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday.
The first lady turned 55 and spent a ‘working birthday,’ as the president put it.
But the somber atmosphere echoes the mood of past birthdays, which have been rough for Melania.
Last year, she marked her first birthday since the death of her mother, Amalija Knavs, who died in January 2024. At the same time her husband was on trial in New York City over a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The first lady was a quiet presence at Saturday’s service.
Wearing a black dress and black veil, Melania stood at her husband’s side as he spoke with various world leaders before the start of the funeral.
When the mass began the couple held hands.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Pope’s funeral
The day should improve when she gets a romantic birthday dinner on Air Force One on the flight back to the United States.
‘Oh she’s gonna have a great birthday. She’s got a working birthday,’ the president told reporters Friday on Air Force One on the flight to Rome.
He then threatened to send the notoriously shy first lady to the back of the plane to talk to the press.
‘She’d love that,’ he joked.
Still he does have plans to mark his wife’s big day.
‘I’ll take her for dinner on the Boeing. I’ll take her for dinner on Air Force One,’ he said.
And he conceded: ‘I haven’t had time to buy presents. It’s been pretty busy.’
The past few years have been busy for the Trump family as Donald Trump ran for re-election and Barron Trump started college.
Last year’s birthday was a rough one for Melania.
She spent the day quietly at the Trumps’ home in Mar-a-Lago, her father Viktor and son Barron at her side.
Her husband was having his own tough day.
Trump, who was then a presidential candidate, was in New York fighting hush money charges regarding a payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Trump. He denies the charges. He was ultimately convicted 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
He was thinking of his wife that day a year ago, when he stood outside the courthouse in New York City.
‘I want to start by wishing my wife Melania a very happy birthday. Would be nice to be with her but I’m at a courthouse for a rigged trial,’ he said.
‘Everybody knows it. Yesterday was a big day. But I do have to begin by wishing Melania happy birthday. She’s in Florida,’ he added.
US President Donald Trump (C) and First Lady Melania Trump (C/R) stand alongside leaders including France’s President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb (2L) as they attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral ceremony
Melania’s 2019 birthday became an internet meme
This year marks Melania Trump’s first birthday back in the White House.
Her past celebrations in the executive mansion got entangled in politics.
In 2019, when she turned 49, the White House paid tribute to her in a social media post that featured a photo of her sitting alone on a sofa during a bilateral meeting between President Trump and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis in the Oval Office.
The internet went wild turning it into a meme, photoshopping pictures of Vladimir Putin and others seated next to the first lady.
She also spent the day hosting then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, Akie, for a dinner.
‘She said that she would not like to have dinner with anyone else (than with them),’ the president said of the celebration.
The Trumps and Shinzos are close. They hosted Akie at Mar-a-Lago after her husband was assassinated.
Still that was a slightly better birthday than the year earlier, in 2018, when the president admitted he forgot to get her a present.
He told Fox News he had been so busy he didn’t get around to birthday shopping.
Asked what he bought his wife, Trump laughed and said: ‘Well, I better not get into that ‘cause I may get in trouble. Maybe I didn’t get her so much.’
Trump added that he did get the first lady ‘a beautiful card and some beautiful flowers.’
‘You know, I’m very busy to be running out looking for presents, OK?’ he said.
Melania Trump was born in Slovenia – then part of Yugoslavia – in 1970. She became a US citizen in 2006.
She is only the country’s second foreign-born first lady.
She started modeling in Europe and, in 1996, moved to New York City. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006 and then sponsored her parents to become American citizens.
