Jimmy Fallon Mocks Melania Trump for Skipping Trip With Husband Donald: 'He Even Tried Bribing Her'

Jimmy Fallon mocked First Lady Melania Trump on The Tonight Show for skipping President Donald Trump’s two-day trip to the Irish Open golf tournament at his Doonbeg resort.

During remarks at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Dublin, the POTUS claimed Melania stayed behind because she didn't want to make the seven-hour flight.

“My wife is here in spirit. She’s watching right now. She said, ‘Say hello,’ because she was very friendly with these two people. I said, ‘Well, why don’t you come with me?’ She said, ‘Well, it’s a seven-hour trip. Maybe I’m not that friendly,’” the POTUS joked.

Fallon took the opportunity to roast the couple during his Monday, September 14, monologue.

“Trump said Melania skipped the trip because it was a seven-hour flight, yeah. Asked where she went for the weekend, Trump said, 'Australia,'” Fallon quipped, implying she went even further away to avoid him.

“Yeah, Trump really wanted Melania to be there,” Fallon continued. “He even tried bribing her with a check for $5,000.”

Instead of Melania, Donald traveled with his aide Natalie Harp. As his executive assistant, Natalie remained by his side during official welcome events in Dublin, meetings with Irish President Catherine Connolly and Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and a stop at his golf resort in Doonbeg for the Irish Open.

Melania’s latest absence follows a pattern that late-night hosts have frequently targeted.

In August, Jimmy and other comedians joked about Melania’s month-long disappearance from the public eye, playfully theorizing that she had run off with recovering Sen. Mitch McConnell, who hadn't been seen in the public eye for three months until his reemergence in the Senate on Monday, September 14.

"People have noticed she's been laying low," Fallon said, pointing out that Melania hadn't been seen publicly for 29 days.

The 51-year-old jokester imagined Donald responding by saying he had not seen his wife privately "for two years."

"I understand Melania is taking a step back with everything going on. She's worried that at any moment she could be trapped with Trump inside her catering truck," the comedian said in a humorous nod to an incident in which the president was smuggled off Air Force One inside an airport catering truck during a security decoy operation in July.

The FLOTUS ended a 30-day public absence from July 19 to August 2, when she appeared at the White House Rose Garden and joked, “I heard you missed me.”

Reports indicate she spends minimal time living full-time at the White House, preferring residences at Trump Tower in Manhattan and Mar-a-Lago.

Observers and former staff note that she maintains a lower profile and a more independent schedule during the second term than during her first time as first lady.