These are congratulations from a special place: Donald Trump (77) congratulated his wife Melania on her 54th birthday from the court in New York. The former US president is being tried there in connection with hush money payments to a porn star. “First, I want to wish my wife Melania a happy birthday,” Trump told reporters outside the courtroom on Friday (April 26). “It would be nice to be with her, but I’m in the courthouse for a rigged trial.”
Trump added that Melania was celebrating her birthday in the state of Florida, where he would also fly after the meeting. The 77-year-old said nothing about why his wife has not yet accompanied him in the trial. Even in his bid to run again as the Republican presidential candidate in November, Melania has hardly publicly supported her husband.
An insider told People that Melania’s 54th birthday is likely to be quieter because the former first lady continues to mourn her mother, who died in January. “This birthday will be difficult for her,” the site quotes. “She will celebrate with her family in peace.”
Donald Trump has been in court in Manhattan since April 15th. The 77-year-old is accused of falsifying business documents in 34 cases. At the center of the allegations is, among other things, an alleged hush money payment to the porn actress Stormy Daniels (45), who claims to have had an affair with Trump. The politician is said to have transferred $130,000 to them shortly before the election in 2016.
Before Trump entered the courtroom on Friday, he complained to reporters about the temperature in the courtroom: “We have another day ahead of us in a freezing cold court. It’s very cold in there. On purpose, I think.” The former president will have to endure the cold for at least another month – the trial was originally scheduled to last around seven weeks.
