Former US President Donald Trump said his wife, Melania Trump, is doing “fine” after a jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in his criminal hush money trial in New York last week.
In an interview with Fox & Friends Weekend that aired on Sunday, the former president spoke about how his family is processing the news of his conviction.
“I think in many ways it’s tougher on them than it is on me,” he said. “They’re good people, all of them, everyone, everyone. I have a wonderful wife who has to listen to this stuff all the time. They do that for this reason.”
Trump added that while the former first lady has taken the news in stride, it’s still tough for her.
“She’s fine, but I think it’s very hard for her,” he said. “I mean, she’s fine, but you know she has to read all this crap.”
Trump has decried his conviction and pledged to appeal it.
While other family members, including Ivanka Trump, who had previously stayed silent about the proceedings, came out with a supportive message for her father following his guilty verdict, Melania Trump has not made any public statements or posts on her personal social media accounts since Thursday.
The trial centers around a $130,000 payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election to keep quiet about her story about their alleged affair. Trump denies the affair.
The proceedings brought up embarrassing details about the former president and his relationship with his wife.
Michael Cohen, the former president’s personal lawyer and “fixer,” who was the prosecution’s star witness, told the court Trump wasn’t concerned about how his wife would react to Daniels going public with her story.
“He wasn’t thinking about Melania,” Cohen said. “This was all about the campaign.”
Meanwhile, Daniels told the court her affair with Trump started shortly after Melania Trump gave birth to the couple’s son, Barron.
Daniels also recalled Donald Trump told her at the time that he and Melania Trump slept in separate bedrooms.
In an interview with the Daily Mirror published Sunday, Daniels urged Melania Trump to leave the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
“I don’t know what their agreement may or may not be, but Melania needs to leave him,” Daniels said. “Not because of what he did with me or other women but because he is a convicted felon.”
Melania Trump has kept a low profile since the end of her husband’s administration, making rare public appearances as Donald Trump campaigns for the White House. She also did not show up at the Manhattan courthouse during the trial, even as other family members and allies joined Trump in court.
However, The New York Times reported Melania Trump privately called the trial “a disgrace” amounting to election interference.
Donald Trump’s sentencing hearing has been set for July 11.