Melania Trump demanded $237K before she was willing to speak with gay Republicans

The Palm Beach chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans invited former First Lady Melania Trump to speak at a fundraiser for the group in April and paid her nearly $250,000 for the privilege, Federal Election Commission disclosures reveal.

The highly unusual payment accompanied one of only five public appearances Mrs. Trump has made in support of her husband’s third presidential run.

Related:

Melania Trump inexplicably hosts LGBTQ+ Republican event despite total absence from campaign trail

The hosts of the event claimed Donald Trump was the most pro-gay president in history.

The candidate reports, signed and submitted by Trump on August 13, reveal most of Melania Trump’s campaign-related earnings in the second quarter of 2024 came from licensing fees and sales from her custom NFT collections. 

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The latter include editions from her “Melania’s Vision” collection, a watercolor depiction of her “cobalt blue eyes, providing the collector with an amulet that inspires” ($150).

The largest single source of income was the speaking fee of $237,500.

The speech by Mrs. Trump was delivered at a spring fundraiser for the Log Cabin Republicans held at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. It was unclear what, if any, fee the gay Republicans paid to the resort for use of the facility in addition to the nearly quarter million dollars paid to Mrs. Trump.

Melania Trump begins her speech last night to the Log Cabin (LBGT+) Republicans at Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/cB4EvSCVN5

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) April 21, 2024

The event reportedly raised over $1 million for an “unprecedented” gay and lesbian voter outreach initiative organized by gay Trump administration alum Ric Grennel, one-time Ambassador to Germany and acting Director of National Intelligence in the final, chaotic year of Trump’s presidency.

“Everyone was so honored to be with her and in her presence,” said one Palm Beach gay who attended the event.

The gay Republican group continues to support their namesake party and Donald Trump despite he and his party’s continued and open hostility toward the LGBTQ+ community among members of the GOP and the MAGA movement that seeks to displace it. The vast majority of Republicans in the House and Senate voted against the Respect for Marriage Act protecting same-sex marriages in November 2022.

In a scripted appearance with Fox News Digital ahead of the Log Cabin event, Melania Trump told the outlet, “We must unite in our effort to establish a society where equality is the everyday experience of every American. Individual freedom provides a unifying set of principles, and ultimately establishes our American way.”

Of the five campaign-related appearances Melania Trump has made, two were with the gay Republican group; in July, Mrs. Trump hosted another Log Cabin event at her New York penthouse. Whether or not she earned another fee for that appearance was not revealed in the current second quarter report.

Mrs. Trump’s other campaign stops in the 2024 race have included standing by her husband’s side when he announced his latest run in late 2022; accompanying him to vote in Florida’s presidential primary in March; and showing up at the Republican National Convention in July. She declined to speak at that event.

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