Rumors of another alleged affair involving President Donald Trump leaked this week, and it appears to be affecting the behavior of First Lady Melania Trump.
First Lady Trump was seen breaking protocol on Friday as she arrived at Air Force One alone for a scheduled flight to Florida to meet the survivors of the Parkland Florida Shooting with her husband. The President was nowhere to be seen.
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Earlier in the afternoon The New Yorker published a story claiming Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, allegedly had an affair with Trump from June 2006 to April 2007. If those dates are factual, Trump would’ve have been cheating on the First Lady during and after her pregnancy with their youngest child, Barron (born in March 2007).
While the move was unusual, the two were seen leaving Air Force One together when they arrived in Florida. According to Melania’s communications director Stephanie Grisham, the break in tradition was due to a scheduling issue.
“With her schedule it was easier to meet him on the plane,” Grisham said.
A White House spokesperson denied McDougal’s claims.
“This is an old story that is just more fake news,” the spokesperson said. “The President says he never had a relationship with McDougal.”
This is the second report of an alleged affair against Trump in as many months, as The Wall Street Journal first reported in January that Trump had his lawyer pay adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair in 2006 four months after his son was born.
Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen denied the initial report, but later claimed he paid Daniels out of pocket.
When the Daniels story first broke, Melania was seen traveling in separate cars from her husband to the U.S. Capitol building for the State of Address speech on Jan. 30. This, just like Friday’s solitary arrival to Air Force One, broke tradition.
