Melania Trump attends first official event after 24-day absence from public eye

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

First Lady Melania Trump made her first appearance in 24 days at a White House event honouring Gold Star military families.

The event had been closed off to the press out of respect for the 40 families in attendance who lost loved ones in the US military. Ms Trump's attendance was her first since 10 May, just days before being admitted to hospital to undergo a "successful" surgery for a "benign" kidney condition, the White House had announced on 14 May.

Mr Trump had, according to one person at the event who spoke to CNN, gone off on a minute-long apparent comedy "riff" about the speculation over where Ms Trump may have been.

Ms Trump "has always been a strong and independent woman who puts her family, and certainly her health above all else, and that won't change over a rabid press corps. She's confident in what she is doing and in her role, and knows the rest is just speculation and nonsense," said White House communications director Stephanie Grisham said ahead of the event.

“It was closed press last year as well. These are Gold Star families. They have lost loved ones and deserve respect and privacy,” Ms Grisham said about the decision not to allow media into the event.

Whether health issues continue to plaque the first lady after her five-day stint at Walter Reed Medical Centre in Washington, DC, has not been disclosed to the public.

However, the White House did announce Ms Trump would not be accompanying the president to the upcoming G7 Summit in Montreal, Canada from 7-9 June nor the hotly anticipated meeting with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un set to take place on 12 June in Singapore.

Ms Trump also issued a statement about the Gold Star families event. She said it "was a privilege to...recognise our Nation’s fallen heroes and their families. To all those who have lost loved ones in service to our country, our nation grieves with you. It is a solemn reminder that we, the American people, are able to live as freely as we do because of the selfless sacrifices of our men and women in uniform. We remain indebted to each of them and we honour them today, together, with their families. Thank you to those who joined us this evening and to the men and women currently serving overseas and to their families, thank you for your service. We send our prayers to all of those in harm's way".

The first lady's attendance at such events is normal and several of Ms Trump's predecessors have hosted them. It was Ms Trump's prolonged absence given her rising popularity - she led the president in approval rating in many polls - that was notable.

Ms Trump recently announced her "Be Best" initiative in order to combat opioid addiction, cyberbullying, and low self-esteem among America's children.