First Lady Melania Trump has been notably absent from the White House since the start of her husband’s second term in January. Now, a statue of her in her native Slovenia seems to be following a similar pattern.
On Tuesday, authorities in Rozno, Slovenia, near Melania’s hometown of Sevnica, reported that a bronze statue of the former First Lady had gone missing. The bronze statue was a replacement for an original wooden version that was unveiled in 2019 but was destroyed by arson on July 4, 2020.
The statue was designed and painted to resemble Melania wearing the powder blue outfit she wore at President Trump’s first inauguration.
The bronze statue stood on a tree stump which served as its pedestal. However, the statue was found sawed off at the ankles, leaving only a pair of large bronze feet attached to the stump. Brad Downey, the American artist who commissioned both statues, commented on Instagram that removing the feet “denies grounding, erases direction, and halts motion.” He added, “What’s left is a fragment — rooted, but silenced. A body no longer able to move forward, a ghost.”
NBC News covered the story on TikTok with a humorous introduction: “Police in Slovenia are on the hunt for this bronze statue… of, believe it or not, Melania Trump. She’s missing.” The report summarized the statue’s history and damage before concluding, “And then they nabbed it. They took off with her.”
Many viewers reacted quickly with jokes about the statue’s disappearance. One commenter found the phrase “believe it or not” particularly funny. Others were confused by the statue’s appearance. “That’s the statue?? That could literally be of anyone. They put no effort into it,” one person wrote. Another humorously disagreed, saying, “The artist truly captured her likeness. It’s uncanny.”
Several Slovenians and others expressed surprise that the statue even existed. “She’s missing here too…” one commenter noted, likely referencing Melania’s low profile during her second term as First Lady.
Some people mentioned Melania’s 2018 appearance wearing a jacket with the words “I really don’t care. Do u?” which she wore while visiting a detention center for migrant children.
Overall, one popular and amusing theory was that Melania herself might have hired someone to steal the statue.
