First Lady Melania Trump to make campaign trail debut one week from election day

First Lady Melania Trump has been a rare sight during the US election campaign – but she will soon appear at her first solo event.

She’s been a no-show for much of the campaign trail – but US First Lady Melania Trump is now planning to make her first solo campaign appearance.

Ms Trump will speak at a Make America Great event in Pennsylvania on Tuesday afternoon local time, CNN reports – just one week before the November 3 vote gets underway.

It’s a radically different approach compared with previous First Ladies, who have traditionally been front and centre on the campaign trail and a powerful tool deployed by campaign strategists.

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First Lady Melania Trump has so far not made a solo appearance on the election campaign. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

In fact, First Ladies are regularly wheeled out at events in place of their husbands and tend to take a very active role during election periods – and Ms Trump’s failure to do so is especially surprising given most experts predict the upcoming election against Democratic hopeful Joe Biden will be a nailbiter.

Many claim Ms Trump could be a crucial weapon for the President, who particularly needs to win over the key demographic of suburban white women.

Not only will tomorrow’s Pennsylvania engagement be Ms Trump’s first on her own, it will also be one of her first appearances since her shock COVID-19 diagnosis.

Ms Trump was struck down by the illness along with her husband Donald Trump and teenage son Barron in early October.

But while the President soon returned to election duties after a brief stint in hospital, his wife opted out of a campaign rally last week due to a lingering cough and out of an “abundance of caution”.

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US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosted a Halloween event at the White House – but Ms Trump has not made many public appearances. Picture: Yuri Gripas/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The last time Ms Trump spoke at an event on her own in support of her husband was four years ago just before the last election.

But she was also notably absent for much of that campaign, claiming she wanted to focus on caring for her son, who was then aged 10.

A source told CNN Mr Trump’s team desperately wanted his wife’s participation, and that it was her own choice to avoid events.

“It is certainly not a question of ‘Does the Trump campaign want Melania Trump to make appearances?’ She’s wanted and needed. It’s just that she doesn’t do them,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the news of Ms Trump’s upcoming engagement comes as the popular ‘Fake Melania’ online conspiracy theory was reignited on October 22, when the First Lady as photographed with the President boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington.

For anyone fooled by the fake Melania beaming (that’s a clue right there) from the top of the plane stairs as Trump arrived in Wisconsin a few hours ago, THIS is the real Melania.

More tonight on SUNDAY @theprojecttv #TheProjectTV

pic.twitter.com/167OnDoK3R

— Lisa Wilkinson (@Lisa_Wilkinson) October 25, 2020

The only thing I'll miss from this administration is them swapping in new Melanias and just pretending we won't notice like a 4-year-old with a guppy pic.twitter.com/8J0A4E9z5H

— Zack Bornstein (@ZackBornstein) October 25, 2020

She was shown smiling, with large dark glasses masking much of her face – and many online sleuths – including Australia’s own Lisa Wilkinson – were convinced the woman pictured was a body double filling in for the 50-year-old.