Trumps step off Air Force One for a weekend at Mar-a-Lago
Hours after the release of a controversial memo about the FBI’s perceived bias against him, President Donald Trump appeared relieved to bid farewell to a stressful week in Washington, DC and return to his beloved Mar-a-Lago estate for his traditional weekend getaway late Friday.
Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and their 11-year-old son, Barron Trump, disembarked from Air Force One after landing at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida.
This is the first time in three weeks that Trump has flown to Mar-a-Lago. He was last there during the Martin Luther King Jr holiday weekend.
He had planned to fly there on January 19 to have a bash celebrating a year since his inauguration but was forced to stay in Washington due to the federal government shutdown.
The president and the first lady did not appear to be particularly warm to one another - the latest tense exchange between the couple since it was alleged Trump had an affair with the porn star Stormy Daniels.
In video posted by the Palm Beach Post, an expressionless Melania Trump walks by her husband after they reach the tarmac.
Trump descended the stairs alongside his son while the first lady trailed them both by a few feet.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the president guided his young son into the awaiting motorcade.
Just a few feet behind, Melania Trump kept walking to the awaiting motorcade without acknowledging the news media and photographers.
Hours after the release of a controversial memo about the FBI’s perceived bias against him, President Donald Trump appeared relieved to bid farewell to a stressful week in Washington, DC and return to his beloved Mar-a-Lago estate for his traditional weekend getaway late Friday
Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and their 11-year-old son, Barron Trump, disembarked from Air Force One after landing at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida
Barron was dressed head to toe in white as he disembarked Air Force One with his parents late Friday
Trump descended the stairs alongside his son while the first lady trailed them both by a few feet
Unusually she did not pause and wave alongside her husband but made her way to the motorcade in towering laboutin heels and super-skinny navy pants and a dramatic red cape
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Melania Trump kept walking to the awaiting motorcade without acknowledging the news media and photographers
The president paused to wave at the cameras while his wife and son went ahead into the car
The footage shows Trump turning toward his wife, but she does not appear to respond to him at all.
Instead, the first lady continues to walk toward the motorcade.
The president paused to wave at the cameras while his wife and son went ahead into the car.
The First Lady opted for patriotic red and blue on the back of the State of the Union address.
Unusually she did not pause and wave alongside her husband but made her way to the motorcade in towering laboutin heels and super-skinny navy pants and a dramatic red cape.
Barron, dressed head to toe in white, was ushered to the car by his father but the First Couple did not touch or exchange words after a tense week with rumors of a hush money paid to a porn star with whom the president had an extramarital affair and reports she arrived in a separate motorcade to Tuesday’s State of the Union.
It is also likely that Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, are in Mar-a-Lago for the weekend after The Palm Beach Post ran a photograph of their son, Joseph, looking out the window of Air Force One after it landed.
Earlier on Friday, DailyMail.com obtained photographs of a Secret Service agent loading a car filled with luggage outside the Kushners' home in Washington, DC.
It is also likely that Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, are in Mar-a-Lago for the weekend. Earlier on Friday, DailyMail.com obtained photographs of a Secret Service agent loading a car filled with luggage outside the Kushners' home in Washington, DC
Trump (above) looks back as he boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Friday
The president and his family escaped the bitter chill in the Northeast for the milder weather in the Sunshine State this weekend
It was a busy week for the president, who gave his first State of the Union address to the nation on Tuesday
Trump left town as Washington grappled with the release of a controversial memo by House Republicans alleging bias against the president at the FBI and the Justice Department
The address before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday was Trump’s first State of the Union speech of his presidency.
Trump vowed on Tuesday to protect American intellectual property, but made little mention of China, which his administration has accused of trade abuses.
Trump urged lawmakers on Tuesday to work toward bipartisan compromises, but pushed a hard line on immigration, insisting on a border wall and other concessions from Democrats as part of any deal to protect the children of illegal immigrants.
Trump, in his first State of the Union speech, gave no ground on the contentious issue of whether to shield young immigrants known as 'Dreamers' from deportation.
Aiming to keep conservative supporters happy as he looks to November congressional elections, Trump stood by a set of principles opposed by Democrats, including the border wall with Mexico and new restrictions on how many family members that legal immigrants can bring into the United States.
After the State of the Union, Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel's show and was coy when asked about reports that she was paid hush money after having an affair with Trump over a decade ago
The Stormy Daniels saga as well as Melania’s body language this week fueled speculation that the president’s marriage is fraught with tension. Melania reportedly arrived to the State of the Union in a separate motorcade - without her husband
The crowd stood and cheered as the president heralded: 'In America we know that faith and family, not government and bureaucracy are the center of American life.' Melania remained seated
'Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve,' Trump said in his address.
After the speech, Jimmy Kimmel hosted a porn star who reportedly was paid a six-figure sum of money to keep quiet about an extramarital affair she had with Trump over a decade ago.
Stormy Daniels appeared on Kimmel's show on Tuesday night just hours after Trump's first State of the Union address.
The porn star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has been on a publicity tour in recent weeks after it was alleged she had sex with Trump back in 2006 just months after his wife Melania gave birth to Barron.
Kimmel's show kicked off with a clip of the host and Daniels watching the State of the Union speech before he pulled out two puppets - one of Trump in white underwear and another dressed as Daniels with her mouth taped shut.
‘Enough of this. Show me what he did to you with these,' Kimmel asked her.
Daniels didn't reveal anything - and the rest of the interview didn't expose much more either.
She did however appear to confirm that she had signed a non-disclosure agreement when Kimmel pointed out that if any such agreement didn't exist, she would be free to say so.
'You're so smart Jimmy,' Daniels responded.
Just hours before her appearance on the show, a statement was issued in Daniels' name denying the affair with Trump ever occurred, saying: 'I am not denying this affair because I was paid 'hush money'... I am denying this affair because it never happened.'
But when Kimmel asked her about the denial letter on the show, Daniels seemed to deny she had even signed it.
The Stormy Daniels saga as well as Melania’s body language this week fueled speculation that the president’s marriage is fraught with tension.
During the State of the Union, when the president spoke about the importance of ‘family,’ Melania remained seated while everyone around her stood up and clapped enthusiastically.
Those watching along on Twitter were quick to notice the First Lady not budging, while surrounded by people standing and cheering after the president said: 'In America we know that faith and family, not government and bureaucracy are the center of American life. The motto is: In God we trust.'
'Looks like Melania didn't stand! Oh that's right #pornstar,' one user tweeted, while another wrote: 'Did you notice that Melania refused to stand when trump commented on family values being at the center of American life? She looked like she was in a Stormy mood.'
There were also reports that Melania arrived at the State of the Union on Capitol Hill on her own.
The First Lady broke from tradition and took her own motorcade to the speech.
Trump signaled Friday that he expects heads to roll at the Department of Justice after reviewing a classified memo alleging FBI misconduct
Days earlier, Melania backed out of her planned trip to Davos with her husband, further fueling rumors of discontent within the marriage.
The week ended in a tumultuous fashion for the first family as Washington was reeling over the release of a memo alleging anti-Trump bias at the FBI and the Justice Department.
Trump and his Republican allies in Congress on Friday escalated a campaign against US law enforcement agencies over their probe of Trump’s ties to Russia, releasing a disputed memo that the FBI warned was misleading and inaccurate.
The previously classified document, written by Republicans on the House of Representatives intelligence committee, alleges that the federal probe of potential collusion between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia was a product of political bias against Trump at the FBI and Justice Department.
Ignoring a plea from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Trump approved the memo’s release without redactions, deepening an extraordinary breach between the president and senior law enforcement officials over a probe that has dogged him during his first year in office.
Democrats said the four-page memo mischaracterizes highly sensitive classified information and was intended to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s criminal probe into the Russia matter launched in May 2017 that grew out of an earlier FBI investigation. They warned Trump against using it as a pretext to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who hired Mueller and oversees the investigation, or Mueller himself.
As Trump made his way to Mar-a-Lago late Friday, supporters stood by the side of the road where his motorcade was traveling and denounced the FBI
One supporter held a sign which read: ‘Justice Department FBI Clinton Crooks!’ Another supporter held up a flag of Israel while holding a sign that read: ‘ILLEGAL IS NOT A RACE’
Mueller also is examining whether Trump has committed obstruction of justice in trying to thwart the Russia probe.
Asked by reporters whether the memo made him more likely to fire Rosenstein or whether he had confidence in him, Trump replied, 'You figure that one out.'
Dismissing Rosenstein would likely ignite a huge political firestorm, as his firing of FBI chief James Comey did last year.
A White House official later said there have been no discussions about firing Rosenstein.
As Trump made his way to Mar-a-Lago late Friday, supporters stood by the side of the road where his motorcade was traveling and denounced the FBI.
One supporter held a sign which read: ‘Justice Department FBI Clinton Crooks!’
Another supporter held up a flag of Israel while holding a sign that read: ‘ILLEGAL IS NOT A RACE’.
‘FAKE NEWS FAKE SOURCES,’ read another sign.