MILWAUKEE — Melania Trump has joined her husband at the Republican National Convention ahead of his address accepting the party’s nomination for president. It is Mrs. Trump’s first public political appearance in months. 

She has largely been absent from the public eye since leaving the White House in 2021, and makes history this year as the first spouse of a presidential candidate to not address the party convention since 1992. 

Mrs. Trump has attended none of her husband’s rallies since he announced his candidacy in late 2022, nor did she accompany him to any of his court appearances in recent months. 

The former first lady walked into the convention hall on Thursday night just before her husband took the stage to accept the nomination. She entered the room after missing the first three days wearing a red dress, accompanied by classical music. 

After the attempt on her husband’s life on Saturday, Mrs. Trump issued a lengthy statement about how impacted she and her son Barron — the only child she shares with the former president — were.

“When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change. I am grateful to have brave secret service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives to protect my husband,” she wrote in her statement on Sunday. 

Her most high-profile event since leaving the White House was attending the funeral of former first lady Rosalyn Carter, where she was joined by all living first ladies, along with President Biden and President Clinton. According to the New York Times, Mrs. Trump and first lady Jill Biden have remained in touch since 2021, going so far as to exchange birthday cards.