Melania Trump arrives separately at State of the Union from Trump
First lady Melania Trump arrived separately from President Trump at the Capitol for Mr. Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday night. Last year, Melania Trump rode with Mr. Trump when he addressed Congress. First ladies usually ride with their husbands to and from those addresses.
The White House says Melania Trump rode back from the Capitol in the same car as her husband.
According to CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller, Melania Trump instead hosted a reception for guests who were invited to the speech, and accompanied them to the Capitol for another reception.
The first lady -- wearing a white Dior pantsuit -- received a standing ovation as she entered the House chamber to take her seat for the State of the Union address.
The first lady hadn't been seen in public with Mr. Trump since The Wall Street Journal reported this month that, in 2016, his lawyer paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an affair she had with Mr. Trump.
Daniels appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tuesday night but didn't answer any questions about the alleged affair. While a statement was released from Daniels earlier Tuesday denying any affair, she appeared to hint on Kimmel's show that she didn't sign it.
While Mr. Trump hasn't commented on the accusations leveled against him, Vice President Mike Pence told The Associated Press during a visit to Jerusalem that the reports of the affair were "baseless." Mr. Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, also denied there was any relationship between the two.
The first lady has been keeping a low profile recently, and her attendance at the speech marked her first public outing since she canceled her trip with the president to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum last week.
The trip to Switzerland had been on her public schedule, but Melania Trump's press office said there were "too many scheduling and logistical issues." Instead, while Mr. Trump was in Davos, she stopped at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the people whose lives and families were broken by the horrors of the Holocaust," the first lady said in a statement. "My heart is with you, and we remember."
The first lady later tweeted that the visit was "a powerful & moving tour that honors the millions of innocent lives lost, and educates us on the tragedies and effects of the holocaust."
Her no-show in Davos also came on the heels of the celebration of the couple's 13th wedding anniversary as well as the anniversary of her husband's inauguration, which she marked with a social media post featuring a photo of herself holding the arms of a service member at the 2017 ceremony.
