Melania Trump Still Has 'Lingering Cough' From COVID-19, Won't Attend Campaign Rally

First Lady Melania Trump will not be attending her husband's Presidential campaign rally on Tuesday, as she still has a "lingering cough" from COVID-19. According to CNN, the first lady's chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, shared the news in a recent statement. "Mrs. Trump continues to feel better every day following her recovery from Covid-19, but with a lingering cough, and out of an abundance of caution, she will not be traveling today."

CNN also noted that — aside from her speech at the Republican National Convention in August — this would have been Trump's first in-person appearance in more than a year. Earlier this month, both Trump and her husband, Donald, contracted coronavirus. While the President was hospitalized, the First Lady remained quarantined at the White House to recover. On Oct. 14, the White House published an essay from Trump on her experience with the illness. In it, she explained that she "was very fortunate as my diagnosis came with minimal symptoms." Among her symptoms, Trump says she "experienced body aches, a cough and headaches, and felt extremely tired most of the time."

First lady Melania Trump is canceling her first campaign appearance in months because she is not feeling well as she continues to recover from Covid-19, her chief of staff says. https://t.co/19Vy0O6sHF

— CNN (@CNN) October 20, 2020

Trump went on to say, "I chose to go a more natural route in terms of medicine, opting more for vitamins and healthy food," and praised the "wonderful caretakers" who helped her, the President, and their son Barron, who also tested positive for the illness. "It was an unfamiliar feeling for me to be the patient instead of a person trying to encourage our nation to stay healthy and safe. It was me being taken care of now, and getting first-hand experience with all that COVID-19 can do."

She added, "As the patient, and the person benefitting from so much medical support, I found myself even more grateful and in awe of caretakers and first responders everywhere. To the medical staff and the residence staff who have been taking care of our family—thank you doesn't say enough." Trump also says that "recovering from" the illness gave her "a lot of time to reflect."

"When my husband was taken to Walter Reed as a precaution, I spent much of my time reflecting on my family," she said. "I also thought about the hundreds of thousands of people across our country who have been impacted by this illness that infects people with no discrimination. We are in unprecedented times—and with the election fast approaching, it has been easy to get caught up in so much negative energy." The President has stated that he fully recovered from COVID-19.