Melania Trump will reportedly be making a rare campaign appearance later this month in California to help raise money for President Donald Trump‘s 2020 re-election effort.
The 49-year-old first lady hasn’t typically spent much time campaigning for the president, which she previously credited to wanting to stay home and take care of their teenage son, Barron.
Barron was 9 years old at the start of his father’s 2016 campaign against then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, but he will turn 14 later this month.
The Associated Press reports that the 73-year-old Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign notified supporters that they can win a chance to meet the first lady at an event in California, which is expected to take place in mid-March.
The AP also reports that Trump campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said the first lady is “in demand.”
“First lady Melania Trump is a sought-after voice from the First Family, who has the overwhelming approval and admiration of the American people,” McEnany told the AP via email. “She is an incredible mother, wife, leader, and first lady for our nation.”
CNN reported last month that Mrs. Trump consistently denied requests to appear at campaign events in 2016 — so much so that campaign staff stopped asking her.
“I follow the news from A-to-Z,” she told CNN in early 2016, saying she often calls her husband to give him her opinion.
Politico first reported the first lady’s planned fundraising efforts for this spring back in February, noting that she’s listed as a host for a March 18 event in Beverly Hills and another event on March 25 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
The fundraisers are set up to benefit Trump Victory, according to Politico — a joint fundraising account for Trump’s 2020 campaign and the Republican National Committee.
Mrs. Trump did appear at Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign kick-off in June last year in Orlando, Florida, telling the crowd then, “It has been my honor to serve as First Lady the past two years.”
The first lady regularly makes brief speeches at her public appearances, often championing her “Be Best” children’s welfare initiative, including an anti-bullying campaign. Critics have long said that is hypocritical, however, given the president’s penchant of bullying and mocking people online.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Trump spoke about the importance of women’s roles in American society, including as elected officials, as she awarded a dozen women with the International Women of Courage Awards.
At the same time, President Trump criticized Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a former rival, repeating a favorite slur about her in reference to a past controversy about her claiming Native American ancestry.
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