Trump Gives Melania a Birthday Kiss on the Tarmac After Pope Francis' Funeral: 'She's a Great First Lady' (April 26, 2025)

President Donald Trump came home from Pope Francis’ funeral on his wife’s birthday, and the press pool caught the moment on the tarmac in Newark, New Jersey. “POTUS and FLOTUS were off AF1 at 3:45 p.m. ET. He waved at the pool but did not come to take questions from us. He gave FLOTUS a kiss on the cheek (it’s her birthday — we saw a giant bouquet of some sort of pink flowers offloaded from AF1),” the pooler reported [1].

“But she got in a car and he got in M1 at 3:46 p.m. ET,” the report said. Marine One flew the President on to Bedminster [1].

First Lady Melania Trump was born in Slovenia on April 26, 1970, according to her White House biography. “At a young age, she began what would soon become a highly successful modeling career,” the biography says. She “is the second First Lady born outside the United States,” the White House says [2].

The video above shows the Trumps’ return to the United States on April 26, 2025. Quotes are from the White House pool reports and transcripts published by the American Presidency Project [1][3][4].

”Dinner on Air Force One”

The day before, Trump opened his gaggle on the flight to Rome simply. “We have a long flight today, but we’re going for a good reason,” he said [3].

At the end, a reporter asked about the birthday. “What’s on tap for Melania’s birthday?” [3]

“Oh, she’s going to have a great birthday. [ Laughter ] She’s got a working birthday. She’s up front. I should send her back,” Trump said. “I’ll send—I’ll send her back into the lion’s pit.” [3]

Another reporter asked if he was taking her to dinner, or had found time for a present. “I’ll take her for dinner on the Boeing. [ Laughter ] Right? I’ll take her for dinner on Air Force One,” Trump answered [3].

“I haven’t had much time to buy presents, no. We’ve had a lot of—we’ve been pretty busy. But it’s working out,” he said [3].

A Kiss at the Sign of Peace

At the Vatican, the couple sat in the front row at St. Peter’s Square. “FLOTUS is with him, in a black dress and black veil,” the pool reported [1].

“POTUS and FLOTUS were spotted holding hands at one point. They are in the front row,” the pool wrote as the funeral began [1].

“Alar Karis, the Estonian president, is seated next to FLOTUS. The two of them and POTUS had a short conversation during the service,” the pool noted [1].

“Per fellow poolers, during the Sign of Peace, POTUS kissed FLOTUS on the cheek,” the pooler reported [1].

Trump also met privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that morning. “President Trump and President Zelenskyy met privately today and had a very productive discussion,” said White House communications director Steven Cheung [1].

”She’s a Great First Lady”

It was “his first foreign trip of term two,” the pooler noted at the end of the day. The flight home was faster than planned. “Our flight was a quick 8 hours and 27 minutes — far shorter than the 9 hours and 20 minutes originally anticipated,” the pooler wrote [1].

The next day, a reporter asked how the celebration went. “Did you and the First Lady have a nice birthday dinner on the plane?” [4]

“We had a great dinner. She’s a great First Lady. People loved her. And the funeral was beautiful. It was a beautiful funeral. As funerals go, it was a beautiful funeral,” Trump said [4].

By the Numbers

• April 26, 1970: Melania Trump’s birthday, per the White House [2].
• 8 hours, 27 minutes: the flight from Rome to Newark [1].
• 3:45 p.m.: when the Trumps stepped off Air Force One [1].
• 2nd: First Lady born outside the United States [2].

What Happened Next

Her law got signed. Three weeks later, on May 19, 2025, Melania Trump joined the President in the Rose Garden as he signed the TAKE IT DOWN Act, “a priority of the First Lady’s BE BEST initiative” [5].

“I am proud to say that the values of BE BEST will be reflected in the law of the land,” she said [5].

She warned about what children face online. “Artificial Intelligence and social media are the digital candy of the next generation—sweet, addictive, and engineered to have an impact on the cognitive development of our children,” the First Lady said [5].

“I want to thank my husband, President Trump, for standing with us in this effort,” she said [5].

“I want to thank Melania for your leadership on this very important issue. America is blessed to have such a dedicated and compassionate First Lady,” Trump said [5]. He ended by saying, “working with our First Lady, we’ve shown that bipartisanship is still possible,” according to the White House [5].

The bill had passed Congress “in the first 100 days of the second Trump Administration,” the White House said [5].

For the funeral itself and the meeting with Zelenskyy, see HYGO News’ page on Pope Francis’ funeral.

Sources

1. The American Presidency Project: Pool Reports of April 26, 2025
2. The White House: Melania Trump, First Lady of the United States
3. The American Presidency Project: Remarks in an Exchange With Reporters Aboard Air Force One En Route to Rome, Italy (April 25, 2025)
4. The American Presidency Project: Remarks in an Exchange With Reporters at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey (April 27, 2025)
5. The American Presidency Project: Remarks by the First Lady at the Signing of the TAKE IT DOWN Act (May 19, 2025)