As Trump loyalists rushed to pay tribute to the president on his 80th birthday, one person was notably absent from the fold: his own wife.
First lady Melania Trump, 56, did not publicly wish her husband, Donald Trump, a happy birthday as he entered his ninth decade on Sunday. In fact, she remained wholly silent on social media throughout the day, with a photo of her shaking hands with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent posted three days earlier marking her most recent Instagram update.
The rest of Trump’s family, however, showed up in full force for the patriarch. Every one of Trump’s children wished him a happy birthday on social media, save for Barron Trump, who does not maintain a public profile.
Additionally, the Trump clan turned out in full for the controversial UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House on Sunday, including Melania, who was prominently seated beside her husband of 21 years.
Trump, for his part, also stayed silent on the first lady’s birthday in April. He did, however, post at least six times on Truth Social. There, he addressed the attempted assassination against him at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner the day prior, along with a host of other topics. At one point, he mused about renaming ICE agents to “NICE agents.”
He also congratulated Lee Greenwood, who sings “God Bless the USA,” and his wife, Kim, on becoming grandparents.
“They were with me from the very beginning—Total loyalty, and Lee gave me the greatest walk on song of all time, nothing even close!!! Congratulations to you both!!! Love, President DJT” the president wrote.
It was only when 60 Minutes host Norah O’Donnell broached the topic during Trump’s appearance on the CBS show that the president publicly acknowledged his wife’s special day.
“I understand today is the first lady’s birthday? Is that right?” O’Donnell inquired, to which Trump replied: “Today is her birthday, yes. Happy birthday. Happy birthday, Melania.”
The president added that by the time he and the former model-turned-first lady returned home on Saturday night after the correspondents’ dinner went awry, it was past midnight.
“Well, it was—yeah, by the time we get back here, it’s like around 12:00, and I said, ‘Happy birthday, darling,’” he said.
It’s not the only time Trump has flubbed his wife’s birthday. In 2024, he spent Melania’s special day apart from her and sitting inside a Manhattan courthouse, where he was on trial—and later found guilty—for falsifying business records.
