There Was One Guest at Donald Trump's Post-Arraignment Speech Who May Raise Eyebrows

Melania Trump may have withdrawn her public support of husband Donald Trump during his arraignment this week, but there’s one person who curiously was sitting front and center during the former president’s speech: her dad, Viktor Knavs. He didn’t seem to have a problem with the fact that Melania’s husband allegedly cheated on her more […]

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Melania Trump may have withdrawn her public support of husband Donald Trump during his arraignment this week, but there’s one person who curiously was sitting front and center during the former president’s speech: her dad, Viktor Knavs. He didn’t seem to have a problem with the fact that Melania’s husband allegedly cheated on her more than once and then paid the women for their silence. 

It’s an odd prospect for anyone to wrap their brain around, but Knavs was cozily situated between Lara Trump and Donald Trump Jr. (Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and Barron Trump were the other missing family members.) And even though Melania’s father was there to show his support, Donald Trump still failed to thank his wife in his speech. Shouldn’t Knavs be supporting his daughter instead of the former president? This feels like a hurtful move — at least from an outsider’s perspective. 

Knavs and his wife, Amalija, were steady presences during Donald Trump’s administration after buying a home in the area to help raise Barron. They would often travel with Melania and bounce between New York City, Bedminster, New Jersey, and Mar-a-Lago with the entire clan, so they are well embedded in the Trump family. But showing up to his 34-count indictment speech is a whole different level of awkwardness. 

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Melania is said to be “angry” not necessarily “humiliated” by the situation Donald Trump finds himself in, according to the author of Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff. “Her silence is deliberate, it is her weapon of choice and her protective armor,” she explained. While Melania’s support won’t be seen in public, she’s still standing by her man behind closed doors — and perhaps that’s why she signed off on her dad expressing his unconditional support for the former president.

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