First Lady Melania Trump is scheduled to make her first public appearance since undergoing a kidney procedure in early May, hosting Gold Star families at a Monday Gold Star Families Memorial Day Reception alongside husband President Donald Trump.
Mrs. Trump will host the Gold Star families at a White House event on Monday that was listed as closed to the press as of Sunday evening. Gold Star families are those whose military immediate family member died during wartime.
The first lady underwent a routine embolization procedure for a benign kidney condition at Walter Reed military hospital on May 14. She was in “good spirits” after the successful procedure according to the president. Her office said she was looking “forward to a full recovery so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere.”
She spent the duration of the week following the procedure recovering at Walter Reed before returning to the White House. Her husband visited her three days in a row after the procedure. In that week, she received thousands of well wishes in email and phone calls.
After she returned to the White House to continue her recovery, conspiracy theories rose up in the media and online. CNN ran a headline calling out her absence from public duties after just twenty days. Online conspiracy theories for her absence emerged during her recovery, creating rumors that Mrs. Trump had moved back to New York or was huddling with the Obamas while she writes a tell-all about her husband and plastic surgery.
Just before undergoing the procedure she had participated in a late night welcoming of American prisoners released from North Korea. On May 7, she launched her official “BE BEST” policy platform in a White House Rose Garden ceremony.
When the first lady returned home to the White House she was said to be “resting comfortably” and remained “in high spirits.” The first lady’s office thanked all of the thousands who wished the first lady well.
The first couple hosted Gold Star families at this time last year. Mrs. Trump called these families a “unique and distinct category of individuals who should be cherished.” She committed herself and her husband to “always pay tribute to our active service military, veterans, and the families who love them.”
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