Donald Trump‘s alleged infidelities have not impacted his wife Melania Trump, she says.
“It is not concern and focus of mine,” the first lady told ABC News’ chief national affairs correspondent Tom Llamas in the latest video preview, released Friday, of their wide-ranging interview filmed during her recent trip to Africa.
“I’m a mother and a first lady, and I have much more important things to think about and to do,” she added. “I know people like to speculate and media like to speculate about our marriage.”
Asked if she’s been hurt by the allegations, Mrs. Trump admitted “it’s not always pleasant, of course” — but maintained her confidence. “I know what is right and what is wrong and what is true and what is not true,” she said.
She also confirmed to Llamas that she loves her husband. “Yes, we are fine. Yes. It’s what media speculate, and it’s gossip. It’s not always correct stuff.”
“I’m very strong, and I know what my priorities are,” she said.
This is the first time Mrs. Trump has directly addressed the repeated allegations of her husband’s sexual affairs, all of which he has denied.
The most prominent claim has been that from former adult-film actress Stormy Daniels (neé Stephanie Clifford), who alleged in an In Touch interview that she had a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump at Lake Tahoe that took place in July 2006, less than four months after Melania gave birth to their son, Barron, now 11.
Daniels also said Mr. Trump brushed off questions she had about his wife, saying ” Oh, don’t worry about her.”
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In February, news broke that Mr. Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen had paid Daniels a $130,000 hush-money payment before the 2016 election to stay quiet about their affair. The former Celebrity Apprentice host has since admitted he reimbursed Cohen for the payment, though still insists the alleged affair never happened.
Throughout it all, Mrs. Trump has remained silent. Only in June did followers get an idea of what she was thinking when New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani — who has been working as the president’s personal attorney — claimed to have spoken to first lady about Stormy Daniels, saying she “believes her husband, and she knows it’s untrue.”
However, the first lady denied even talking to Giuliani, telling Llamas, “I never talked to Mr. Giuliani.” When questioned why Giuliani would make the claim otherwise, Mrs. Trump said, “I don’t know. You need to ask him.”
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Mrs. Trump has remained steadfast by her husband’s side, too, as he faced allegations of sexual misconduct by multiple women over the course of the 2016 presidential campaign (He has denied all those accusations as well).
When Llamas brought the topic of the #MetToo movement up during their interview, Mrs. Trump told him she supports the women who have courageously come forward with their claims of sexual assault and harassment but supported the men too.
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“I support the women and they need to be heard. We need to support them and also men, not just women,” Mrs. Trump said.
Asked if men who have been publicly accused of sexual misconduct have been treated unfairly, the former fashion model said, “We need to have really hard evidence that you know, that if you are accused of something, show the evidence.”
ABC News’ full interview with the first lady, titled Being Melania — The First Lady, airs Friday (10 p.m. ET).
