Melania Trump ignores husband Donald Trump in Valentine's Day speech

First Lady Melania Trump delivered a Valentine's Day speech to US troops at Fort Bragg that focused on love and service without mentioning President Trump.

Published on: Feb 15, 2026 5:52 AM IST

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In an event held on February 13 at Fort Bragg and Pope Army Airfield in North Carolina, First Lady Melania Trump delivered a Valentine's Day message to U.S. troops and their families. However, Melania's speech on love did not mention her husband, President Donald Trump.

First Lady Melania Trump speaks to the troops in Fort Bragg, N.C., Friday (AP Photo/Matt Ramey) (AP)

“Love letters have symbolized the union of patriotism and family devotion among our soldiers”

She addressed the service member involved in last month's capture of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, and wished the soldiers a “Happy Valentine's Day.” She said, “To our great armed forces of the United States stationed all over the world, I have a nostalgia-filled message.”

She started with, “Love letters have symbolized the union of patriotism and family devotion among our soldiers for 250 years.”

Melania decided to center Valentine's Day around themes of love, country, and service instead of the usual romantic tributes. She said, “The harmony of love of country and love of family is what make us uniquely American. It is very balanced which strengthens our military and builds our communities.”

Melania then proceeded to bring the president to the stage to wrap up her speech, but she made no mention of him in her Valentine's Day address.

"And now, it is my distinct honor to introduce your Commander in Chief, our leader who maintains a mission of peace through strength, President Donald J Trump," she announced.

Trump took the stage as he planted a kiss on Melania's cheek and proceeded to his address to the crowd.

Melania at other Valentine's Day events

Earlier in the week, Melania visited The Children's Inn at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland. She celebrated with holiday-themed craft-making and chatting about their lives, health and other interests with the young patients undergoing treatments for rare and serious illnesses.

It was her fourth visit as first lady and the first of the second Trump administration to The Children's Inn at the National Institutes of Health. During the first term, she made three visits.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shirin Gupta
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More

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