Speaking at a Republican fundraiser Thursday, President Donald Trump joked that it wouldn’t be the end of the world for First Lady Melania Trump if he were involved in a tragedy. Politico reports that Trump was referring to Rep. Steve Scalise, who was wounded in a mass shooting in 2017, when he said, “[Scalise’s spouse] cried her eyes out when I met her at the hospital that fateful day … I mean, not many wives would react that way to tragedy. I know mine wouldn’t.”
Curiosity about the Trump marriage has made headlines in the past, including when he tried and failed to hold Melania’s hand in front of the press or when other women accused of him being unfaithful.
Videos by PopCulture.com
In March, a witness told PEOPLE that they saw the Trumps having a disagreement at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. “Melania was super upset and they had words with each other over something,” the source said, although the White House disputed the claim.
In an interview with ABC News last year, Melania said she was not “concerned” by the affair allegations. “It is not a concern and focus of mine,” she said at the time. “I’m a mother and a first lady and I have much more important things to think about and to do. I know people like to speculate and the media like to speculate about our marriage.”
“It’s not always pleasant, of course,” she continued. “But I know what is right and what is wrong and what is true or not true.”
President Trump, 73, made the remark about the first lady, 49, during an hour-long roast-like speech at a fundraiser for Take Back the House 2020, the joint fundraising committee of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Politico reports, which Trump described as “unscripted, unfiltered and totally in his element.”
Also at the dinner, Trump discussed various GOP lawmakers like North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, who Trump said had “the best name.”
“If I had that name, I would have been president 10 years ago,” he said, adding that Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, a Trump critic, had the worst name. Trump also praised the family of Pennsylvania Rep. John Joyce, calling his son “handsome” and his wife a “looker.”
He gave a joking shoutout to Indiana Rep. Greg Pence, who is the brother of Vice President Mike Pence: “I know a guy who looks like you,” Trump said. “How did you get that good of a seat in here, ya cheap-o?”
He also took a swipe at former attorney general Jeff Sessions, who could once again run for an Alabama seat: “Who is gonna win Alabama? Don’t tell me Sessions.”
The fundraiser, attended by some 115 House Republicans, was expected to raise more than $13 million.
