Melania Trump’s mother, Amalia Knaves, has died, the former first lady announced Tuesday night. He was 78 years old.
“It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved mother, Amalija,” Trump, 53, said He wrote in Xdescribing her as “a strong woman who always carried herself with grace, warmth and dignity”.
“She was completely devoted to her husband, daughters, granddaughter and son-in-law,” Trump added. “We will miss him immensely and continue to honor and love his legacy.”
The cause of death was not released, and a spokesman for the former first lady did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.
Newsweek reported about it Last week, former President Donald Trump told guests at a New Year’s party that his wife was in a Miami hospital with her mother, who he described as “very sick.”
Knavs, a Slovenian immigrant and former textile factory worker, and her husband, Viktor, raised Melania Knavs in rural Slovenia before she began modeling and moved to New York in 1996, where she would meet and later marry Donald Trump.
Later, his parents settled in the United States as permanent residents He received citizenship in 2018. Their immigration attorney he said To New York Times After the inauguration, Melania became Trump’s sponsor.
They were sworn in through the family-based immigration system that the former president often denounced while in office.