Melania Trump gives rare interview stressing ‘unity’ as her husband faces hush money trial

Melania Trump has given a rare interview to Fox News urging the country to “unite” as the 2024 campaign heats up and her husband, former President Donald Trump, faces a hush money trial in New York.

The former first lady has so far shied away from the trail during the 2024 campaign but on Saturday will attend a Mar-a-Lago event hosted by the LGBT+ group the Log Cabin Republicans, focused on its get-out-the-vote programme aimed at gay voters in battleground states.

“We must unite in our effort to establish a society where equality is the everyday experience of every American,” Ms Trump told Fox News Digital ahead of the event. “Individual freedom provides a unifying set of principles, and ultimately establishes our American way.”

She added that when America succeeds, it “blossoms into a magnificent place where everyone can practice their beliefs, share new ideas, and express individualism — this is when we are our best”.

Ms Trump is working with former US Ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell – the first openly gay member of a presidential cabinet.

“If you work hard and have a little bit of luck and God’s grace, you can do anything you want in America regardless of your skin colour, socio-economic situation, or sexual orientation,” he told Fox News Digital. “We want what every American wants, to be treated equally not differently.”

He added that the Republicans have become “increasingly welcoming of gay conservatives over the last 20 years”.

“But we made the most progress when Donald Trump and Melania Trump moved into the White House,” he claimed. “Gays and lesbians are no longer reflexively leftist.”

Ms Trump had been almost entirely absent from Mr Trump’s campaign