WASHINGTON - Mrs Melania Trump has broken her silence about the speculation over her marriage amid rumours regarding her husband's fidelity, the Guardian reported on Saturday (Jan 27).
Ms Stephanie Grisham, spokesman for the US first lady, criticised and called media reports on Mrs Trump "a laundry list of salacious and flat-out false reporting" in a Twitter post late on Friday (Jan 26).
"BREAKING: The laundry list of salacious & flat-out false reporting about Mrs Trump by tabloid publications & TV shows has seeped into 'mainstream media' reporting," Ms Grisham said in the tweet, adding that Mrs Trump was focused on her family and her role as First Lady, "not the unrealistic scenarios being peddled daily by the fake news".
The post came after Ms Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, denied having an affair with the president.
Ms Haley slammed the rumours as "highly offensive" and "disgusting", according to Agence France-Presse.
The rumours stem from author Michael Wolff of the bestseller Fire and Fury, who suggested in an interview that Mr Trump was having an affair and that the liaison was with someone detailed in his book.
The Guardian also reported that US porn actress Stormy Daniels will appear on talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday (Jan 30), the night of Mr Trump's state of the union address to Congress.
Claims by Ms Daniels about having a relationship with Mr Trump have surfaced in recent weeks.
"I am pleased to announce that the very gifted @StormyDaniels will be on #Kimmel Tuesday 1/30 after the #StateOfTheUnion," Mr Jimmy Kimmel wrote Friday on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail reported on Friday that Mrs Trump had spent a number of nights at a Washington DC hotel in the wake of reports about the president's alleged affair with Ms Daniels.
Mr Trump's attorney had allegedly paid her US$130,000 (S$170,000) in hush money before the 2016 presidential election, according to the Washington Post, citing a Wall Street Journal report.
The White House has called the claims "old, recycled reports, which were published and strongly denied prior to the election," and his lawyer says the reports of a payment are "completely false", Washington Post said.
The first lady was scheduled this week to join her husband at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, but her office said on Tuesday, the day before the president's departure, that she would not be attending, citing unspecified scheduling and logistical issues.
