Melania Trump Seen for First Time Since Leaving White House

Former First Lady Melania Trump was photographed in Manhattan on Tuesday, July 6, marking a rare post-2020 election sighting. Although Trump previously posed for a photograph with a fan at the Mar-o-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida in February, the early July outing marked her first public outing outside of the resort since she and husband Donald Trump departed the White House via Air Force One in January following the 2020 presidential election.

During the rare Tuesday outing, Trump was photographed arriving to Trump Tower in Manhattan. Tump was seen wearing white pants and a tan jacket, a much more toned-down look from her Inauguration Day 2021 outfit. She accessorized the look with a white purse and sunglasses. The sighting came as the former president remained in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he held a press conference. According to sources who spoke to PEOPLE, the former first lady and her 15-year-old son Barron Trump plan to split the summer months between the family's Manhattan residence and their Bedminster vacation home.

"While Palm Beach is their main residence, the Trumps go back and forth from New York to New Jersey during the summer season. Melania and her own family do many things together and not necessarily with Donald," the source said, adding that Trump tries to in or around the same city as her husband. "Donald is fine with that as long as she is satisfied, leaves him alone, and makes appearances when needed. Melania is happiest when she is with her own family members, including her son. She is not dumb, she just knows how to handle her life to make it as fulfilling for her as possible."

Sources previously revealed that the former first lady has been "happy and relaxed" with life since her family's departure from the White House. After leaving D.C., the Trumps settled down at Mar-a-Lago, where sources said the former first lady was "not a presence at Mar-a-Lago at all." Instead, Trump was said to be keeping a low-profile, with a source saying, "she's not mingling with people and rarely interacts with her husband's staff." According to PEOPLE's source, Trump "never liked press scrutiny and hates it more now," and she will "never liked press scrutiny and hates it more now."

Amid her exit from the White House, Trump has set up an office at the Mar-a-Lago resort in order to maintain her "Be Best" initiative. Her husband, meanwhile, made headlines earlier in July after he announced plans to lead class-action lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and Google following his bans on their platforms.