When Donald Trump first considered running for president in 2016, he turned to his wife Melania for advice.
They took into account the personal risks – not only for him and her, but also for their nine-year-old son Barron.
In fact, Melania was said to have been so concerned that when Trump pulled off an unexpected victory on election night, she openly wept, distraught that she would not be able to return to her normal life.
A spokesperson for the former First Lady has denied that story. But over the years, the former Slovenian model and self-described introvert has been forced to reckon with these fears.
As a rule, before each public appearance, she reminds her husband: “Good luck and be safe.” I’ll look.’
And on July 13, she indeed “watched” as her worst nightmare came true: Her husband was shot while standing on stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
In that moment, Melania’s carefully constructed world collapsed.
The deeply intimate details of her response to the attempt on Trump’s life and the lasting scar it left on her and her son are now revealed in Melania’s new memoir, Melania, published today.
On July 13, Melania was indeed “watching” when her worst nightmare came true: her husband was shot while on stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Donald and Melania took into account the personal risks – not only for him and her, but also for their nine-year-old son Barron.
It offers a glimpse into the mind of an incredibly private woman, who did her utmost to stay out of the political spotlight – almost to the point of becoming an enigma.
Melania, 54, and Trump, 78, have been married for almost two decades and she has supported him for much of his life — but running for president was different.
“We recognized the inherent risks associated with such a high-profile position,” wrote Melania, 54. “As a wife and mother, the safety of my family is an ongoing concern.”
Nothing could have prepared her and Barron to see their beloved husband and father gunned down.
July 13 started like any other quiet Saturday, Melania writes.
She sat in her study at their family home in Bedminster, New Jersey, while Barron worked out outside.
Melania had waved goodbye to Trump that morning with her usual “good luck.” Then she turned on the TV just before 6 p.m. to watch his speech in Butler, before pausing it for a few minutes so she could focus on her work.
Suddenly her phone rang.
It was her chief of staff.
“Are you watching the meeting?” came the trembling voice over the line. “I just wanted to let you know he’s doing well. He… is… okay. But there was a shooting.”
Melania rushed to turn the TV back on, her heart in her mouth, and watched as Donald grabbed the side of his head and fell, swarmed by Secret Service agents.
‘He’s on the ground. Are you sure everything’s okay?’ she shouted at her chief of staff.
No matter how many times Melania heard that he was okay, and even as she saw him being chased into his SUV, she couldn’t be sure.
“My mind was racing,” she writes, “I hung up and immediately called Donald. When he didn’t respond, I contacted his Secret Service representative.”
“Are you watching the meeting?” came the trembling voice over the line. “I just wanted to let you know he’s doing well. He… is… okay. But there was a shooting.”
Nothing could have prepared her and Barron to see their beloved husband and father gunned down.
“They told me they were already at the hospital and, after what felt like forever, they put Donald on the phone,” Melania recalls.
When Trump picked up the phone, his first words to his wife were simply, “I’m fine.”
“It wasn’t until I heard his voice that I could finally believe that he was really doing well,” she writes.
At that moment, Barron burst into the room. A Secret Service agent had told him that an incident had occurred at the Butler meeting.
‘What happened? Is Dad okay?’ he asked his mother breathlessly.
Melania assured him that his father was mostly unharmed.
They stood together in shock and watched and re-examined the images and reporting.
“I felt a deep sense of sadness,” Melania wrote. “May I explain how traumatic it is for a child to witness the attempted murder of his father?”
An exhausted Trump finally arrived home at 2 a.m. the next morning.
“Barron and I were relieved to see him and hugged him,” Melania wrote, concluding that his survival was “nothing short of a miracle.”
“Without a quick rightward shift in his movement, the shooter’s aim would have led to a terrible and tragic outcome,” she noted.
‘What happened? Is Dad okay?’ Barron asked his mother breathlessly. Melania assured him that his father was largely unharmed.
In the wake of the Butler shooting and an alleged second attempted assassination of Trump last month at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, Melania has been outspoken in her criticism of the Secret Service.
“There are some holes in it, some problems,” she told Fox News on Thursday, claiming her security team had asked for more support “many times” but was denied.
Although through it all, Melania has emerged from her husband’s death throes, calling for national unity and peace.
“Life is precious and can be lost in the blink of an eye,” says Melania. “We have a choice: be torn apart by violence, hatred and division, or unite in a spirit of love, kindness and shared humanity.”
“It is critical that we choose the latter before it is too late,” she wrote.