Donald Trump Says Hush Money Trial has been ‘Tough’ on Melania

Donald Trump has opened up about the negative toll his New York hush money trial has taken on his family, particularly his wife, Melania Trump.

Trump shared that the trial, in which he has now been found guilty, has been “very hard” on the former First Lady, providing a stark contrast to the stoic public image she had projected all along.

Donald Trump became the first ex-president to be convicted of a felony crime, but his lead counsel, Todd Blanche, has revealed that they plan to appeal the verdict as soon as possible.

During an interview on Fox, the former president revealed that his New York hush money trial has been stressful for his wife, Melania, as the legal proceedings wrapped up last week.

Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts for falsifying company records to cover up a hush money payment made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election campaign.

He had denied the accusations, claiming that the case was a “witch hunt” that was politically motivated.

Speaking about the effect of his trial on Melania, Trump said, “She’s fine, but I think it’s very hard for her,” adding that “in many ways, it’s tougher on them [his family] than it is on me.”

He also told the news outlet that he has no issues going to jail, but he is “not sure the public would stand for it.”

“I think it would be tough for the public to take,” he said, per BBC. “You know, at a certain point, there’s a breaking point.”

One of Melania’s former aides claimed that Trump’s guilty verdict would not come as a surprise to her.

During an appearance on CNN, the former advisor to Melania, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, lifted the lid on how the former first lady may have reacted to her husband’s guilty verdict in the New York hush money trial.

“Melania knew exactly who she married. She knew that this was a transactional marriage. She became a top model. He became a loving, doting father, and it set them up for their win for the White House,” Wolkoff told the news outlet, per the Daily Mail.

In the days before the verdict, Trump’s wife had remained silent about the case, with Wolkoff predicting that she was “telling him exactly how she feels” with her attitude.

According to a political source who spoke to People magazine, Melania will likely not address her husband’s guilty verdict in order to avoid drawing attention to herself and her son, Barron Trump.

“Melania believes this is a political assassination, but she knows exactly who she married,” the source shared, going on to add that “for this reason, she has chosen to stay away from media attention to protect herself and her son Barron.”

Another political source told the news outlet that it “is very unlikely she will say much about this unless the comment would be about a political witch hunt, which she definitely believes to be true.”

“She will probably always be mad at him for many of the things he does,” the source added. “But since she has carved out a life that does not include him all of the time, she is able to deal with it.”

Melania was notably absent from all court sessions during Trump’s trial, leading many to think their relationship had been in trouble.

Another aide to the former first lady shared that the ex-president was “absolutely” bothered that his wife and his daughter, Ivanka, chose to distance themselves throughout the legal battle.

Speaking on CNNlast Wednesday, the ex-Trump official Stephanie Grisham claimed that the presumptive Republican party nominee was perturbed by Melania and Ivanka’s lack of support due to both of them not showing up in court.

“Absolutely, I know it bothers him. That kind of thing would bother him. If Mrs. Trump wasn’t at some event and it was really noted, he would definitely bring it up with her,” she said. “So I’m sure in this context, it’s definitely really bothering him.”

Grisham went on to note that she believes Ivanka chose to stay away from the courtroom to keep the case away from her children and that both women are thinking of their own optics” by staying away.

Three of his other children, Donald Jr., Eric, and Tiffany, attended at least once to show support to their father.

The billionaire politician is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. If convicted, he faces a potential four-year jail term for each count, although it’s expected to run concurrently instead of consecutively.

However, that possibility may not change anything as Trump is bent on continuing his fight for the White House.

According to the BBC, one of Trump’s lawyers, Alina Habba, said the former president is a “victim of political, selective prosecution,” and even if he’s jailed, he’ll still be contesting the November elections.

“We have seen some corruption in this country that frankly has never been seen before in our judicial system,” Habba said. “It is very real, it is not posturing by any means, it is 100% a problem that this country is going to have to handle and get a grapple on in November.”

She continued, “He is running for president, nothing will change there. The people that need him in this country, because frankly, it’s more important than anything anybody else thinks.”

“Our people are speaking loudly, they’re donating, they’re small donors, and they are standing up because they are afraid because we cannot have this happen to us,” the legal counsel added.