Standing by her man (again): Melania smiles and even gives Donald a kiss as he celebrates his victory - having endured the embarrassment of rape trials and porn star 'hush money' over past four years

Melania Trump is standing by her husband Donald Trump again as he celebrates his 2024 election victory after having been largely absent from the campaign trail this election cycle.

Melania, 54, held her husband's hand and smiled at the crowd of MAGA fans at his election watch party in Palm Beach, Florida as Trump took the stage and declared victory in the early hours of Wednesday morning, cementing an extraordinary political comeback.

The presumptive president-elect thanked his 'beautiful wife' for her dedication and praised her for 'working very hard to help people' as he delivered his victory speech.

Trump, 78, who kissed Melania's cheek amidst addressing his supporters, also mentioned her memoir Melania, which he touted as the 'number one best-selling book in the country'.

The couple's celebratory appearance comes just weeks after Melania made her triumphant return to politics by introducing Trump at his star-studded rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Melania, who is intensely private, continues to show her support for Trump despite having endured the embarrassment of numerous trials and him being convicted of falsifying business records over hush money payments to a porn star who claimed had an affair with the former president.

The former First Lady, 54, who has been largely absent from Trump's campaign this election cycle, accompanied her husband as he celebrated his return to the White House early Wednesday morning.

She stood near her husband and was joined by Barron, the youngest Trump child. Trump's older children, Don Jr., Eric, Ivanka and Tiffany also joined their father on stage.

Trump claimed victory and pledged to 'heal' the country as he declared his election win as 'a political victory that our country has never seen before.'

He also thanked his 'beautiful wife Melania' who 'has the number one best-selling book in the country' and his 'whole family and 'amazing children'. 

His exuberant speech came despite the fact that only Fox News had declared him the winner, with no other US networks having made the call so far. The Associated Press had still not called the election for Trump by 3am EST. 

Although Melania's appearances on the campaign trail were infrequent, the former First Lady has demonstrated support for her husband in the final days leading up to the election.

She joined a cast of stars at Madison Square Garden in late October to rally support for her husband.

Melania was introduced on stage by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and came out to a roaring standing ovation as she defiantly told the crowds 'New York City and America needs their magic back'.

She only spoke for five minutes, but her speech was focused more on a vision for the country and less about politics, while her husband said it would be an 'honor' to win New York and warned that voting for Kamala Harris is a 'gamble' that could 'cost millions of lives' and lead to 'World War Three'.

It was a rare and stunning move from the former first lady, who has been clear about her disdain of politics. 

She went to the Republican National Convention but didn't speak. She did not attend either presidential debate.

Melania accompanied Trump as he cast his vote in Palm Beach, Florida on Election Day, but kept her sunglasses on as her husband took questions from reporters.

She answered one short question about how she was feeling: 'Very good. Thank you.' 

After they voted the couple swung by Trump's campaign headquarters to thank his staff and asked them to make sure there was no 'cheating' happening on Election Day.

'You are going to be watching. They're watching to make sure there is no cheating, right. No cheating,' he said, before vowing to 'turn this country around.'

Melania said a quick word to thank the staff.

'A great job. Thank you so much for your support. It was hard work, I know. It's hours to hours. I know how hard my husband is working. Nonstop. Thank you for all of your support. Great job,' she told them.

Melania also shared a photograph of 18-year-old Barron at the polling booth on Tuesday night. He was noticeably absent when his parents cast their votes in Florida earlier in the day.

'Voted for the first time - for his dad,' Melania wrote alongside the snap in a post shared to X.

She added that she was 'proud' of the teenager. Barron was seen heading from New York to Florida on Sunday ahead of his father's election party in Mar-a-Lago.

Melania is intensely private and spent much of her White House years focused on raising her son Barron, who was a teenager at the time.

After the Trumps left the White House in January 2021, Melania maintained her low profile. 

Her appearance at Madison Square Garden marked her first time at a campaign rally this cycle. She said she spoke at the event because 'I want to support my husband as well so I was there for him and for everybody else.'

She also admitted that she is careful about where she goes after the two assassination attempts on her husband.

'It is different. It is much more dangerous and I am very vigilant and selective where I go, what do I do, you never know. It is one person. And it is dangerous out there,' she told Fox & Friends late last month.

She noted when Trump leaves for an event she says to him: 'I always say to him, good luck and be safe. You never know what kind of phone call you will receive and what can happen in life. Life is fragile and we need to enjoy it everyday.' 

Melania also rushed to her husband's defense last week after Democrats - including Barack Obama - slammed Trump for holding a rally at Madison Square Garden that they compared to a 1939 Nazi event after many of the speakers made racist and sexist comments.

Trump has defended himself from the attacks, but Melania also stepped in to do the same as she made a rare television appearance to talk about the election.

'It is terrible. He is not Hitler and his supporters stand behind him because they want to see country successful. We see what kind of support he has,' Melania said during an interview on Fox and Friends. 

 The comparisons came after Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly said Trump spoke admirably of Hitler and his generals. Trump has denied that. 

The Madison Square Garden event was filled with controversial moments. 

Trump's childhood friend David Rem referred to Harris as 'the Antichrist' and 'the devil.' Businessman Grant Cardone told the crowd that Harris 'and her pimp handlers will destroy our country.' Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe also called Puerto Rico a 'floating island of garbage'.

Meanwhile, Trump's claimed presidential election victory on Wednesday will essentially end the criminal cases brought against him, at least for the four years he occupies the White House. 

Trump for much of this year faced four simultaneous prosecutions, over allegations ranging from his attempt to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat. 

A New York jury in May found him guilty of falsifying business records tied to the Daniels payment, making him the first former US president convicted of a felony. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and cast the prosecutions as politically motivated. 

He also told an interviewer on Oct. 24 that he would fire US Special Counsel Jack Smith - who led the federal prosecutions over his attempts to overturn his election defeat and retention of classified documents after leaving office - 'within two seconds' of being sworn in. 

While Trump as president will have the authority to fire Smith and shut down the federal cases against him, he will not have the same control over the New York hush money case or Georgia's prosecution of him for trying to overturn his 2020 loss in that state. 

But his unique role as president makes it unlikely he will face legal consequences in either case during his term in office.

One more court date is scheduled before he is due to be sworn in on Jan. 20, though legal experts said that was unlikely to go forward.