CNN anchor Erin Burnett teased a new update on “the whereabouts of Melania Trump” minutes before former President Donald Trump was to take the stage for CNN’s debate.
The drama built as President Joe Biden and Trump got ready to debate Thursday night in the earliest general election presidential matchup ever, with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash moderating.
One question mark was whether Melania would show up, and with just minutes to go before the debate, Burnett teased “We are just now learning more about the whereabouts of the woman who is not in this picture: The former first lady, Melania Trump. Where is she?”
Minutes later, correspondent Kristin Holmes filled in the blanks — sort of:
ANDERSON COOPER: First Lady Jill Biden is here in Atlanta for tonight’s debate. Nothing unusual about that. Spouses traditionally attend big debates tonight. That tradition is being broken by the former first lady. CNN’s Kristen Holmes is back with new reporting on that. What have you heard, Kristen?
KRISTEN HOLMES: Yeah. Anderson. When Donald Trump took the stage, notably missing nearby to give him support will be former first lady Melania Trump.
There have been a lot of speculation about whether or not she would attend this debate, particularly given just how critical this moment is for the campaign, that the campaign itself was really cagey about answering questions about whether or not she would be here.
But as we saw when Donald Trump’s plane landed here from Florida, he got out of the plane with a slew of different advisers. But no Melania Trump.
Now, there’s some reasons why this isn’t that surprising. Just remember, since he launched his presidential campaign two years ago, she’s attended only one actual campaign public event, and that was the launching of his third presidential bid at her Mar-A-Lago home.
And while his advisers and aides insist that she is supportive of him, of his political ambitions, that she is just more focused on raising Barron, this, of course, has raised questions as to why she’s not out there on the campaign trail, particularly when you see first lady Jill Biden, who has become an active surrogate for her husband.
Out there today, she was even talking to donors visiting a campaign headquarters. So very different vibe, if you will, from both of these two women as we head into this campaign season.
ANDERSON COOPER: Kristen Holmes, thanks very much.
Watch above via CNN’s Debate Night in America coverage.
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