Melania thinks Donald’s hush money trial is a ‘disgrace’ and ‘tantamount to election tampering’

Melania Trump, while noticeably absent from many of her husband’s campaign events, has reportedly voiced her opposition to his hush money trial that began Monday.

In recent private conversations, Ms Trump called the trial “a disgrace” and tantamount to election interference, a source close to the Trumps with direct knowledge of her comments told The New York Times. This report comes on day two of Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York City. Ms Trump has not appeared in court with her husband, saying in private discussions it is “his problem” alone, The New York Times reports.

So far, seven jurors have been selected. Jury selection will continue on Thursday.

Mr Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in an attempt to conceal a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election to silence her about an alleged affair in 2006.

The charges were misdemeanours but have been elevated to felonies because Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg says they violated state and federal election laws.

The former president isthe first American president to ever stand trial on criminal charges.

Ms Trump’s support for her husband is particularly poignant given the subject of the trial. Ms Trump was reportedly furious when allegations first emerged that the then-president paid off an adult film star he had reportedly had an affair with, something he continues to deny. She left him alone in Washington DC and rode in a separate car to his 2018 State of the Union address after hearing the news, The New York Times reports.

Meanwhile, Ms Trump has been largely out of the public eye in recent months, missing the majority of campaign events and milestones, including