'Missing in action': Analyst sees Trump's 'family man' defense killed by Melania's absence

The failure of Melania Trump to make an appearance at the Manhattan courtroom where her husband Donald is facing 34 felony counts related to paying off an adult film star is hurting his defense in multiple ways.

That's a claim made by analyst Amanda Marcotte in her column for Salon, where she said that the former first lady's absence is likely crippling a line of defense his lawyers would like to use to gain some sympathy from jurors.

As Marcotte noted, Trump's defense attorney Todd Blanche attempted to paint his client as an average married man no different than any other who was concerned about how revelations about his alleged affair would impact his family.

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That, she claimed, fell flat when the former president's wife could not, or would not, show up in court as a sign of solidarity with her husband for the jury to see.

As she noted, that was the least of his problems as the jury is being presented with Trump as an average "family man."

"It's not just the failed fashion model-turned-Mrs. Trump #3 who hasn't shown up in support. None of Trump's five children, or their spouses, have stood by his side in court, either. His two adult sons would rather spend time screening hypothetical future political appointments for 'loyalty' than bother to show their father any in-person care at court. His eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, is posting photos of her fancy vacations rather than staying in New York with her father," she wrote.

Add to that, with Melania nowhere in sight, Trump's legal team would be hard-pressed to use the so-called "John Edwards defense," which has been proven to be effective in the past.

"The former Democratic presidential candidate [Edwards] was indicted in 2011 for having donors pay off his mistress to keep quiet not just about the affair, but the child the two shared. Edwards was ultimately acquitted, in part because he successfully argued the payments were more about hiding his secret from his dying wife than helping him win an election," she wrote before suggesting, "It's hard to sell Trump as a loving family man who regrets his adultery when the family in question is missing in action."

Returning to the Blanche defense, she continued, "So there was an opportunity to trick the jury into believing Trump is, as Blanche said, 'a person just like you,' before dryly adding, " The fact that during the first days of his first criminal trial, Trump can't scrounge up one person from his rather large family to stand by his side? Well, that alone will tell quite a bit of the tale."

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