Melania's Signature Stoicism Rubs Off On Trump In Aloof Take On Rally Shooting

In a March 2019 speech she made during the State Department's International Women of Courage Awards, then-first lady Melania Trump highlighted the crucial trait as a necessity for people to make change. "I believe courage is one of the qualities we need most in society," she said. Melania's behind-the-scenes behavior has shown off her own resilient qualities, especially in ignoring, and biting back at, criticism from the media, like after one well-publicized moment where she wore an inappropriate jacket with the words "I Really Don't Care, Do U?" while visiting migrant families in June 2018. "It was for the people and for the left-wing media who are criticizing me, and I wanna show them that I don't care," she told ABC News in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, in October 2018.

Melania's husband, former president and 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, showed similar confidence during an October 2024 interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham. In their discussion, Trump tackled a variety of topics, including the Biden administration's handling of hurricanes currently affecting southern states, and vowing to protect women voters. Notably, Trump emulated his wife's unfazed demeanor when he discussed his recent assassination attempt at a Butler, Pennsylvania rally on July 13, 2024.

In his interview with Laura Ingraham, Donald Trump was asked about the sequence of events following his assassination attempt while hosting another rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. When Ingraham pressed him about if he possibly teared up in the wake of the incident, the former president confidently denied shedding any. "If I admitted that, I think I'd lose a lot of votes," he said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter. "Do you want a president that cries? I don't think so." His stoic response prompted laughter and cheers from his supporters in attendance. Despite his unwillingness to show his feelings in those moments, Trump acknowledged the emotional events that followed it, including his famous fist pump and the crowd's subsequent reaction. "It was the craziest day," he said. "It was a crazy time."

In a separate interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity in October 2024, Melania Trump described her own, less-composed reaction to the rally shooting, saying it was difficult to tell what had become of her husband immediately after he was shot. "I didn't know that he was hit in the ear," she said. "You always question what it could be, and so it was really frightening."