Former President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, that his wife Melania has been missing from family holiday celebrations to spend time with her sick mother in the hospital.

Reporters had noted that the former first lady was missing from the family Christmas photo and that sources said it was to spend time with her mother, Amalija Knavs, who is being treated in a Miami hospital.

The video, posted by one of his supporters, showed Trump on stage during a New Year's Eve party at Mar-A-Lago talking about his wife and the situation.

A New Years message from President Trump. Prayers up for Melania and her mother.
Make America Great Again! pic.twitter.com/PNTcMMqArG

— Freyja™ (@FreyjaTarte) January 1, 2024

Trump explains

“Melania, great first lady. So popular, and people love her. She’s right now in the hospital with her mother. Her mother, Amalija, is very ill. But hopefully she’ll be recovering,” Trump said while explaining her absence at the party.

He noted that Melania probably knew "95%" of the people in attendance and that she "sends her love." Melania attended a similar party with her husband on New Year's Eve 2022 and in previous years.

Trump's oldest daughter Ivanka was also missing from the party, but Eric, Donald Jr., and Tiffany were present.

Trump said she was "skiing," and that he told her to enjoy herself. "I said, 'Go ahead darling, go skiing, enjoy yourself just don't fall please, don't hurt yourself," Trump joked to the audience's laughter.

"A tough one"

Trump said that he had visited the hospital in Miami where Melania's mother was being treated and that it was "a very great hospital," adding, “Hopefully, they’ll be ok. But it’s a tough one, a very tough one."

A source told Fox News that Melania “has always been devoted to her family” and that it was “no surprise that she spent Christmas with her ailing mother.”

Reporters have asked about Melania's absence from most of Trump's public appearances, and in September Trump addressed their questions.

"She's a private person, a great person, a very confident person, and she loves our country very much," he explained on NBC News's Meet the Press.

"So nasty and mean"

"I like to keep her away from it," he added. "It's so nasty and so mean."

Melania did attend a Naturalization ceremony at the National Archives earlier in December, and sources told Page Six that she plans to have a more public profile in 2024 ahead of a presumed Trump nomination for the presidential ticket in 2024.