'I heard you missed me': Melania Trump jokes about month out of spotlight

Washington: US First Lady Melania Trump made light of her month-long absence from the public eye during an event in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday. "Good afternoon. I heard you missed me," she said with a laugh, as she opened the event alongside her 80-year-old husband, former President Donald Trump. Hand in hand, they made their way from the Oval Office to the podium, with the president seated in the audience as his wife spoke.

The occasion marked a donation by IndyCar and the Fox Corporation to fund university scholarships, in preparation for an IndyCar race through Washington to commemorate America's 250th Independence Day anniversary. However, all attention was drawn to Melania, who had been notably absent from public view since the FIFA World Cup final on July 19.

The Slovenian-born model-turned-first lady had skipped several significant events, including the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner on July 24, despite having been present at the inaugural version in April, which was marred by a shooting incident. According to a recent analysis by US broadcaster NBC, Melania Trump has maintained a significantly lower public profile in her second term as First Lady, attending roughly half as many public events as she did during her initial year in the position.

The return of Melania to the public eye coincided with mounting speculation surrounding Trump's trusted executive assistant, Natalie Harp, 35. The White House vehemently responded to criticism, rebuking a Democratic Senate hopeful who questioned why Harp was among the few individuals permitted to secretly exit Air Force One with the president in Turkey following a security threat.

Harp has been a steadfast companion to Trump throughout his second term, often assisting with tasks such as typing out social media posts and printing out information, duties that have earned her the moniker "human printer." Notably, Harp was notably absent from the Rose Garden event.