Her communications director said the change of plans is due to "scheduling and logistical issues."
- First Lady Melania Trump will not attend the World Economic Forum with President Donald Trump, according to a statement from her communications director Stephanie Grisham, who cited "scheduling and logistical issues."
- The president's trip had also been in limbo during the federal government shutdown over the weekend, but was confirmed after Congress reached a temporary funding deal to reopen the government on Monday.
- The first lady's absence follows days of public silence after revelations that one of Trump's lawyers paid the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with then-citizen Trump.
- That alleged affair between Daniels and Trump reportedly happened the year after he married Melania, his third wife, in 2005.
First Lady Melania Trump will not be joining President Donald Trump on his trip to mingle with elite global economic luminaries in Davos, Switzerland.
East Wing communications director Stephanie Grisham cited "scheduling and logistical issues" for the change of plans, according to CNN. The president's plans to attend the World Economic Forum were also in doubt during the federal government shutdown over the weekend, but was back on the schedule after Congress reached a temporary funding deal to reopen the government, which Trump signed Monday evening.
The first lady's absence follows days of public silence after revelations that one of Trump's lawyers paid the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about a 2006 sexual encounter she said she had with Trump. The alleged affair would have occurred the year after then-citizen Trump married Melania, who is his third wife.
CNN also noted that despite having traveled to Mar-a-Lago with the president over the long Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, the first lady was not seen with the president during two dinners he hosted that weekend.
In a January 20 Twitter post marking the one-year anniversary of Trump's inauguration, Melania celebrated "a year filled with many wonderful moments," sharing a picture of herself with a military escort that did not include her husband.