President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump presented a smiling, united front on Friday as they welcomed Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his wife, Lucy, to the White House.
After the two couples exchanged pleasantries and smiled for photos at the South Portico, the Trumps invited the Turnbulls inside, where they had lunch together and the two leaders met and later gave a joint press conference.
The first lady appeared to be in higher spirits Friday than in recent weeks following allegations that the president had affairs with porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal in 2006, shortly after the Trumps’ son, Barron, now 11, was born. (Trump has denied both affairs.)
Last week, just hours after The New Yorker broke news of the alleged Playmate affair, the first lady broke tradition and traveled to Marine One without her husband as the couple headed to Florida to meet with survivors of the Parkland shooting.
And earlier this month, in the midst of the Stormy Daniels drama, Mrs. Trump appeared to avoid her husband’s attempt to hold hands, echoing a similar incident from last May.
Though there was no hand-holding on Friday, the first lady was pictured smiling brightly next to her husband as they spent time with the Turnbulls.
"A lot of good things will come out of this visit," the Pres tells PM Turnbull during Oval Office photo op. pic.twitter.com/Lx9wLMrRF6
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) February 23, 2018
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The visit also marked an improvement in the president’s previously strained relationship with the Australian prime minister.
Trump reportedly hung up on Turnbull in January after a heated exchange during their first phone call, which the president labeled his “worst call” of the day. On the call, Trump blasted a U.S.-Australia agreement made under Barack Obama to accept refugees from Australia, the Washington Post reported at the time.
But on Friday, the two men touted their close friendship — or as Turnbull would say, “mateship” — and vowed to help each other generate jobs and strengthen global security.