COUPLESMelania Trump Only Shows Up to Donald's Events When She Gets Paid, Claims Ex-Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews
A former White House press secretary said it's a 'known thing' that Melania Trump is paid to appear at Donald's events.
Aug. 24 2026, Published 12:51 p.m. ET
Former White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews claimed it's a "known thing" that Melania Trump gets paid to appear at campaign events.
Speaking on MeidasTouch's “On Sunday With Jack Cocchiarella” podcast, Matthews shared details regarding Melania's low profile during President Donald Trump's political campaigns and time in office.
Matthews stated that despite working for a year on the campaign and seven months in the White House during the first administration, she never once met Melania — though she encountered virtually every other cabinet official and member of the First Family.
Melania Trump Likes to Do Her Own Thing
Former White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews never met Melania Trump despite working for the POTUS for seven months.
“I never met the first lady, even though I was the deputy spokesperson for the president on his campaign and in the White House. And I think that’s pretty telling,” Sarah emphasized. “That kind of sums it up, where it was this known thing that she was just not around, and she didn’t want to be around.”
“She thought the White House was old and falling apart, and she wanted to be in New York and do her own thing,” she alleged.
The FLOTUS was allegedly paid six figures for an appearance at a 2024 political event.
Sarah referenced past financial disclosures showing Melania received six-figure payments — such as a reported $237,500 fee for a 2024 political event — to emphasize that Melania frequently treats public appearances as paid engagements.
“We know too that — it’s been reported — that Melania gets paid for showing up at events when they were on the campaign trail, which is crazy to think that you have to pay your own wife to show up somewhere,” she said.
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The staffer questioned whether Melania Trump's absence and return to the spotlight had anything to do with Natalie Harp.
Sarah theorized that Melania's public appearance fee might have risen following recent media speculation and internal tension regarding Donald’s close bond with his executive assistant Natalie Harp.
“But I have to admit that the timing is a little suspect with all of the Natalie Harp things happening in the news...” she said.
Donald and Melania Trump Attended Grand Prix Together
Melania Trump was out of the spotlight for over a month.
The comments come shortly after Melania made a rare public reappearance at a Rose Garden event for her "Fostering the Future" initiative on August 20, breaking a 32-day absence from the public eye.
Following their appearance at the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, August 23, footage of an apparently tense exchange between Donald and Melania went viral.
