Former First Lady Melania Trump departed from Trump Tower on Tuesday under tight security, just two days after a second assassination attempt against her husband, Donald Trump, in over two months.
Photos exclusively obtained by ‘The Post’ show Melania, 54, leaving her family’s New York City residence in a convoy of eight vehicles, including an NYPD Emergency Service Unit van with an officer armed with an automatic weapon. This security detail was double the usual four-vehicle escort typically assigned to her.
Melania also exited Trump Tower through the building’s underground parking garage rather than her usual side door. A woman, possibly an aide, was seen entering Melania’s SUV as it emerged from the garage. The security presence caused Fifty-Sixth Street to be completely closed, which appeared to delay the arrival of her stepson Eric Trump, 40, who had to walk a short distance to the building’s side entrance due to the street closure.
The heightened security follows an assassination attempt against the 45th president, 78, at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday. Suspect Ryan Wesley Routh reportedly waited off the sixth hole for nearly 12 hours before a Secret Service agent spotted his rifle.
Routh allegedly abandoned his rifle, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera when the agent fired at him, fleeing in an SUV. He was arrested approximately 40 minutes later during a traffic stop on I-95 in Martin County, Florida.
The Secret Service acknowledged that the golf course was not searched before Trump’s visit because it was an “off-the-record” event not listed on his official schedule. Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. explained that Trump’s visit was unscheduled and not on the official agenda.
This incident follows a previous assassination attempt on Trump 64 days ago during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was shot and wounded. The first attempt led to significant scrutiny and questions about the Secret Service’s effectiveness, contributing to the resignation of Rowe’s predecessor, Kimberly Cheatle.
