Hosting a members-only dinner at their Mar-A-Lago resort over Easter, Melania and Donald Trump sparked a mini uproar online as they continued their tradition of grandiose arrivals and departures.

Accompanied by their son, Barron, 18, the former first couple of the US arrived at the Louis XIV gold and crystal-embossed Grand Ballroom for brunch to cheers and kisses from a taped-off MAGA crowd of loyal supporters.

Once inside, they dined, were filmed mingling with guests, and as a subdued Melania and Barron left first – followed separately by fist-pumping Trump – it was just too much adulation for some social media watchers.

“Why do Donnie and Melania make an entrance whenever they go to dinner in their own house? It’s super cringe,” wrote Chicago-based Kelly D on X (formerly Twitter), who has 165,000 followers.

“I’m going to start lining up friends in my living room to applaud me making my way to the fridge.”

The comments went viral on social media, Melania’s name started trending, triggering thousands of responses, both serious and flippant.

“Because it’s not a house. It’s a wedding and party venue. It’s a display. Entrances and exits are a big deal. It’s their ‘all eyes are on me’ moment. It’s not like Melania spent the whole day cooking for her guests,” responded one.

Another said: “They dress up for dinner. Which I admit, I like. But this with the photographers and roped-off areas seems like it’s a TV show. The expense just in staffing to cater to all that fluff must be astounding”.

“One woman said she and her husband were eating there and her meal got cold because they were told they had to stand and clap when he entered the room.

“She said she was never going to go there again.”

The “my 2 cats line up when I enter the kitchen, I wonder if that would count?” comment sparked another round of animal comments, memes and comparisons to the royal family.

Tweet from @MELANIAJTRUMP

Forced adoration

Since calling Mar-A-Lago home after leaving the White House in 2021, Trump has been guest of honour at dozens of his own functions while Melania has kept a much lower profile, attending key celebrations such as Christmas and Easter.

Barron has been out of the spotlight even more so, until now.

Hovering above his parents at 200cm, he was filmed in a rare appearance sitting next to Melania at the brunch, while Trump mingled with patrons nearby.

At one stage, Trump awkwardly danced towards more supporters standing behind a red-velvet barricade, as Barron looked on.

Social media pivoted to the young college student with a third round of comments and memes.

Some Photoshopped him into the Oval Office speaking on the phone while others simply commented he will be the tallest president in US history if he runs.

“Barron Trump is a heartbreaker,” wrote one Trump supporter.

Melania’s campaign role

As the Republican presidential candidate delivered another speech in Michigan this week – this time about his immigration policy – resorting to the degrading rhetoric Trump has employed time and again on the campaign trail, Melania was nowhere to be seen.

She has made only three public appearances for her husband’s re-election bid – at his campaign launch in November 2022 and last week and when she attended voting with him for the Florida presidential primary.

On March 24, she sat with him at a golf awards ceremony at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump received two golf awards.

Her role is “up in the air”, reports CNN.

Her former chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, told the US cable network: “Melania has said, ‘I don’t need to stand by Donald like Jill Biden; it is like she’s holding Joe Biden up’.

“She is very much not going to do the Hillary Clinton ‘stand by your man’ thing.”