Melania Trump hosts event after 24 days out of sight

First lady attended a reception held at the White House for families of those killed during military service

First Lady Melania Trump announces her Be Best initiative in the Rose Garden of the White House, one of her last public appearances before Monday. AFP/SAUL LOEB

After more than three weeks out of sight, Melania Trump at last has teed up an appearance at a White House event.

The first lady served as co-host with the president at a reception Monday to honour the families of those killed during military service.

But the event was closed to the news media out of respect for the families — meaning the first lady still was only seen in the flesh by those in attendance. Others will have to wait for photos and video to hit social media.

It’s the second year the Trumps have opened the White House to Gold Star families. The first lady said in a written statement after last June’s event that these families “are a unique and distinct category of individuals who should be cherished.”

Mrs Trump has not been seen in public since the overnight hours of May 10 when she and Donald Trump traveled to a military base in Maryland to welcome home three Americans who had been released from captivity in North Korea. Four days later, the White House announced that she had been hospitalised to treat a benign kidney condition.

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The closest first lady parallel to Mrs Trump’s time out of the public spotlight is Bess Truman, who did few events as first lady because of discomfort around the media, said Anita McBride, a veteran of three Republican administrations who last served as chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush. Mrs Truman also spent a lot of time in Missouri with her mother.

Nancy Reagan spent several weeks out of public view after a mastectomy but continued to meet with staff and do other work behind the scenes.

Public interest in and news media coverage of first ladies exploded during the Obama administration, the first White House to extensively use social media to spread its brand, Ms McBride said. But first ladies are not elected and technically are still private citizens, and each one gets to tailor the job to suit her.

“She is going to do this job her way,” Ms McBride said of Mrs Trump. “It’s her style and we just have to accept that.”

Mrs Trump stayed in the hospital for five days and has kept out of public view since returning home May 19. She has been meeting with staff and working on upcoming projects, according to spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham.

Ms Grisham said the Gold Star families’ event is important to Mrs Trump and has been on her calendar for some time.

It’s still unclear when the first lady will make an appearance in public. She’s not scheduled to accompany Mr Trump to an annual world leaders’ summit in Canada this weekend, or when he meets with North Korea’s leader in Singapore next week.

Her absence has sparked all kinds of wild speculation but the first lady has shown no interest in making an appearance just to knock down rumours.

She sent early signals that she will not bow to speculation or public expectations about what she should be doing.

Her first clue that she would be a different first lady came when she decided to continue living at Trump Tower after her husband took office in January 2017, citing a desire to maintain stability for her son’s schooling. She and son Barron officially moved to the White House last June.

“Mrs Trump is very strong and independent,” Ms Grisham said.