Former President Donald Trump has revealed how his wife, Melania, reacted to the news of his indictments.
"It's always unpleasant when you have to go in and tell your wife that 'by the way, tomorrow, sometime, I'm going to be indicted,'" Trump said Friday in a radio interview on The John Fredericks Show. "And she says, 'For what?' And I say, 'I have no idea. I have absolutely no idea.'"
Trump has been indicted twice, once by a Manhattan grand jury for allegedly falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and on the federal level in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. In the latter indictment, brought by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, he is facing 37 criminal charges, including 31 that involve the Espionage Act.
Smith is also investigating Trump's actions related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot and his attempts to change the results of the 2020 election. Trump has denied wrongdoing in all the cases against him.
Since her husband left the White House, Melania, who was often seen alongside her husband, has retreated from public life. She has been absent from her husband's presidential campaign events and court appearances while maintaining a low profile. In a rare interview with Fox News in May, the former first lady said she supported her husband's third presidential bid.
"We look forward to restoring hope for the future and leading America with love and strength," she said.
Newsweek reached out to Melania Trump for comment via her husband's 45office website.
According to the former president, he tries to separate his family, including his wife and their 17-year-old son, Barron, from legal matters. "I try and keep them shielded and out of it," he said Friday. "I just stay away from the standpoint of this."
"People close to the family say Mrs. Trump's lack of public support should not be confused with disapproval or indifference," according to a Wednesday story in The New York Times. "She remains defensive of her husband, sharing his belief that their family has been unfairly attacked."
"I know few people as comfortable in their skin as Melania Trump," former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told the Times. "She knows who she is and keeps her priorities in check. Melania keeps them guessing, and they keep guessing wrong."
It doesn't seem likely that Melania will change her strategy anytime soon despite her husband's continuing legal troubles, including the possibility of two more indictments.
On Thursday, in a superseding indictment for charges related to the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago, the Justice Department accused Trump of attempting to delete surveillance footage at the Florida resort.
Last week, Smith informed Trump that he is a target of the grand jury in the special counsel's other investigation, the one concerning the Capitol riot and the 2020 presidential race.
Finally, in Fulton County, Georgia, Trump and some of his allies are being investigated for their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the Peach State.
