Melania ‘lookalike’ turns heads at Trump’s historic hush money trial as family goes missing
Source: X/Margo Martin
As jury selection continues in Donald Trump’s historic hush money criminal trial in New York, the spotlight has turned on his “loyal and stylish” aide, one of a handful who accompanied him to court this week.
Introducing his Melania lookalike deputy director of communications – and former White House press assistant – 28-year-old Margo Martin.
Martin has been seen by the 77-year-old former US president’s side at campaigns and parties at his Mar-a-Lago base in Palm Beach, and bears an uncanny resemblance to Trump’s wife.
This week she is in New York.
Her presence comes as Melania, 53, her stepdaughter Ivanka, 42, and other members of Trump’s inner sanctum are conspicuously absent from the high-profile trial that stems from payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
They have also gone missing as supporters in Trump’s other legal entanglements, which are extensive and stretch across four cities.
Besides the New York case, two involve his alleged efforts to retain power after Joe Biden defeated him in 2020. Another concerns the retention of classified documents after leaving office.
Already in 2024 Trump has been dealt major blows in two New York civil lawsuits, one accusing him and his organisation of committing fraud, and another for defaming magazine columnist E Jean Carroll when he denied her claims of sexual assault.
Importantly, Melania, his wife of 19 years and mother of 18-year-old Barron, has not been by his side.
Instead, it has been another glamorous head-turner in Martin, who was filming her boss as he left Trump Tower for “day one of the Biden trial”, and who was also sitting in the back row of the courtroom alongside senior adviser Jason Miller.
The New York Post describes the loyal aide as “glamorous” and one of the few employees to remain as others quit or were fired throughout Trump’s four-year term as president.
“Accompanied by a select posse, Donald didn’t show up alone to his court appearance. However, Melania Trump was noticeably missing from the former president’s arrival, showing her true feelings about the case,” Static Media entertainment website Nicki Swift reported.
Making specific mention of Martin’s “brown locks and black pantsuit”, Nicki Swift noted the aide had people doing a “double take to make sure it wasn’t Melania joining Trump in court”.
So who is Margo Martin?
Since leaving the White House, Melania has avoided the publicity and circus of Trump scandals, preferring to turn up only to functions at their Florida resort.
She has reportedly privately said the Daniels scandal is Trump’s problem, not hers.
However, the New York Times reports she has called the trial a “disgrace” that could threaten her husband’s campaign for re-election in November.
Martin is, without doubt, a Melania doppelganger and a social media star in her own right with 70,000 followers across Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
Martin followed Trump to Mar-a-Lago after his stint as president, and became his communications chief. She’s a staunch Trump supporter working on his re-election campaign.
In a 2021 post, Martin said her time in the White House “gave [her] life immeasurable purpose and happiness”.
She was mistaken for Melania by Fox News anchor John Roberts, when she turned up at a Miami courthouse last year.
“With a day like today, with so many comings and goings, it’s easy, from a distance, to mistake two people,” Newsweek reported Roberts as saying.
Martin has been photographed at black-tie dinners with Trump, at LIV golf tournaments and UFC, on his Boeing Trump Force One and enjoying beach days in Palm Beach, Florida.
The lavish lifestyle doesn’t stop there. She shares horse-riding adventures in Oklahoma, sailing in Florida, outings to casinos and pops up at Trump campaign rallies, as well as trips to India, Scotland and Ireland.
Where’s Ivanka?
Trump’s daughter from his marriage to Ivana, who died in 2022 aged 73, has been “kicking up some dust and making memories” with her children.
She was an adviser and director of the Office of Economic Initiatives and Entrepreneurship during the Trump presidency, and has been described as Trump’s favourite child.
She shares three children – Arabella, Joseph and Theodore – with real estate developer husband Jared Kushner, and last weekend showed off her “toned legs” in a lace mini dress at the luxurious Amangiri resort in Utah.
Photographs of her were liked by friends including Kim Kardashian.
Margo Martin arrives at the Manhattan Criminal Court with the former president. Photo: Getty
Meanwhile, on Wednesday the first seven jurors were empanelled in the Stormy Daniels trial.
The selection process continues for the remaining five, as well as six alternates, who can be fair to the former US president.
Those selected included a man originally from Ireland who enjoys “anything outdoorsy” and watches both MSNBC and Fox News, and an oncology nurse who enjoys taking her dog to the park.
There’s also a corporate lawyer who said he does not follow the news closely.
Jury selection began on Monday (US time) and could last all this week.
More than half the initial pool of 96 jurors called were dismissed on Monday after saying they did not believe they could be fair.
In questioning jurors, Manhattan assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass said the case was not a referendum on Trump’s presidency.
“This case is really not about whether you like Donald Trump,” he said.
“This case is about the rule of law and whether Donald Trump broke it.”
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