Former US First Lady Melania Trump has announced the death of her mother Amalija Knavs. She was 78.
“It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved mother,” Trump posted late Tuesday on X, the former Twitter.
“Amalija Knavs was a strong woman who always carried herself with grace, warmth, and dignity,” she said, adding: “We will miss her beyond measure and continue to honor and love her legacy.”
In 2018, during Donald Trump’s presidency, Melania Trump’s mother and her husband Victor Knavs, who had immigrated to the US from Slovenia, took the oath to become citizens of the United States after a protracted immigration process.
They became citizens through the sponsorship of their adult daughter after becoming lawful permanent residents. They did this by utilizing the family reunification visa process, which was criticized by then-President Donald Trump as “chain migration” and should be eliminated.
Since Louisa Adams in 1825, Melania Trump became the first first lady to be born outside of the United States in 2017.
Trump himself had campaigned heavily on restricting US immigration. As president, he urged the building of a wall on the southern border with Mexico and restricting other forms of immigration and visa mechanisms. Knavs’ cause of death was not announced.
She began introducing her daughter Melania to the fashion industry as a child model for the company in the mid-1970s while working at the local textile plant Jutranjka in Slovenia. Viktor, her spouse, was an entrepreneur.
In an overnight message, Donald Trump described the evening for the Trump family as “a very sad night” on his Truth Social media site.
“Melania’s great and beautiful mother, Amalija, has just gone to a beautiful place in the sky,” he added. “She was an incredible woman, and will be missed far beyond words!”
