Melania Trump reportedly gave her husband, Donald Trump, a nudge during Pope Francis’ funeral, according to a lip reader’s observations.
The US President, aged 78, was seated in the front row close to the casket with Melania, who celebrated her 55th birthday today (April 26). They were in the company of global dignitaries such as French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A notable moment captured at the Vatican’s St Peter’s Square showed Macron leaning in to whisper to Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, followed by a handshake and smiles for the cameras, with Macron seemingly urging him to continue the hold. Amid this, Melania, who had been watching the world leaders’ interactions, discreetly leaned towards Trump to offer a piece of advice.
Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, perhaps to avoid drawing attention, she whispered something to her husband. Lip reading expert Jeremy Freeman has claimed that Melania said: “Donald, look left.”
Following his wife’s subtle cue, Trump then engaged with the leaders to his left, including Spain’s King Felipe VI, greeting him with “great to see you… great to see you”.
He proceeded to greet Stubb and Macron, extending his hand and saying, “Great to see you Alex, good to see you, how are you doing?”
This small yet telling interaction caught on film suggests Melania may play a significant role behind the scenes, providing keen insights to help her partner maintain a statesmanlike presence.
Earlier in the proceedings, as Trump was settling into his seat, he gestured towards Melania, who was raised in the Catholic faith and hails from Slovenia, born there in 1970, remarking: “This is Alexander, from Finland, good man.”
Before this morning’s funeral service at St Peter’s Basilica, Trump had a sit-down with Zelensky. A striking photo capturing the moment between the two leaders seated within the grandeur of the world’s largest church has since been circulated.
This marked Trump’s first trip abroad since assuming office as the 47th president of the United States, and it was also the first occasion he had come face-to-face with the Ukrainian leader following their intense encounter at the White House.
The White House described the talks as a “very productive discussion” while Zelensky shared on X: “Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one.
“Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire.
“Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. “Thank you @POTUS (President of the United States).”
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.