Hear Trump explain away Melania's absence from the campaign trail

Melania Trump, largely absent from her husband's election

campaign

, will make a rare appearance this month. A source tells CNN that she will attend the April 20 fundraiser for the Log Cabin Republicans, a conservative LGBT group. She won't have to travel far. The event will take place in Mar a Lago. CNN's Randi Kaye has more tonight. Last month, when former President Donald Trump cast his vote in the Florida primary, Melania Trump was at his side. A journalist asked her about her plans to

campaign

for her husband and this was her response. Are you going to return to the election campaign with your husband?

Stay tuned. Stay tuned, she said. Now the former first lady will return to the political arena, not at a campaign event for her husband, but at a fundraiser for the Log Cabin Republicans to be held at Mar a Lago later this month. The former president has been provoking her return for months. She is a reserved person, a great person, very sure of herself and she loves our country very much. She will be, she will be at the appropriate time. She'll be out there. At the same time she tried to

explain

her

absence

, like she did on Megan Kelly's podcast.

She is introspective and she trusts that she doesn't need to be out there. And the only person who decides if and when Melania dates is Melania herself. A source close to the former president tells CNN that Melania dictates her participation. She is very selective and methodical in what she wants to do and in how she presents herself. I think part of the beauty is that mystery. When Donald Trump announced his 2024 presidential campaign at Mar a Lago last year, Melania was there, but since then she has largely stayed out of the public eye. Before the Iowa caucuses.

Her

absence

inspired a sarcastic Where is Melania? campaign. As her husband's legal troubles mounted and Trump traveled the country and pleaded not guilty last year, Melania was not at her side. Even Super Tuesday. Melania was missing. While her husband celebrated at his Mar a Lago farm. I want to thank my family for being here. Melania has been dealing with some personal issues, such as her mother's illness. She passed

away

in January. A source who worked with the former first lady told CNN during the 2020 campaign that Melania had never felt comfortable in the public eye and that campaign trips were not something she enjoyed, that she preferred to be at home with the her son, Barron.

More recently, Melania has focused on preparing Barron for college, according to the former president. The New York Times reports that Melania made some appearances in 2022 that earned her around half a million dollars from both the Log Cabin Republicans and a group called Fix California. Last November, Melania attended a memorial service in Atlanta for former first lady Rosalynn Carter. And just last month, she appeared at a formal dinner for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Mar a Lago. It's been almost a year since Melania's last television interview on Fox. Despite her quest for privacy, she happily teased a possible return to the White House.

Never say Never. Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach, Florida.