Whilst delivering a speech about the economy on Friday, President Trump blindsided listeners by veering off course to discuss the First Lady's undergarments.
At the time, the Republican leader was speaking in North Carolina for a rally-style get-together centred on flaunting the alleged stock market gains and lower inflation he's secured since returning to the White House for his second term in January.
At the site - which also served as a pitstop on his way to back to Florida for a two-week festive family holiday - Trump seemingly attempted to shift attention from current economic scepticism, however, to unfair treatment by federal authorities by referencing a grievance of his own.
The subject matter had seemingly reminded the 79-year-old all of a sudden that back in 2022, when his and wife Melania's Mar-a-Lago, Florida mansion was raided by the FBI, they rifled through her drawers with considerable force.
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The year prior, following the conclusion of his first term in office, Trump had turned a series of classified documents over to the bureau.
Despite this, after former special prosecutor Jack Smith caught wind that the right-wing leader was holding onto classified material, a full-fledged Trump probe was arranged, which saw his handful of properties being searched.
Speaking in a closed-door interview this week, Smith told press that his team had gathered 'powerful evidence' during their raid, that indicated that Trump had broken the law by obtaining these files.
He also told Congress that his team had 'developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt' that, in doing so, the politician had criminally conspired to overturn the 2020 election results.
Bringing the incident up himself this week, Trump slammed the FBI's mission as both 'illegal and disgusting', and accusing agents of rifling through 55-year-old Melania's 'panties'.
"I was the hunted," he began on 19 Dec. "I had these animals trying to attack me at Mar-a-Lago. They went into my wife’s closet and I'll say this, number one, it's very bad, but it sounds a little strange.
"They looked at her drawers."
The father-of-five - who shares 19-year-old son Barron with Melania - added that his wife is a 'very meticulous person'.
"Everything is perfect," he continued. "Her undergarments - sometimes referred to as panties - are folded, perfect. They’re so perfect, I say, 'That’s beautiful'. I think she steams them."
After demonstrating the process of steaming to his live audience, prompting a peculiar chuckle, Trump continued of the incident: "We came home. I wasn't there when the raid took place. She opened the drawers and it was not that way. They were a mess.
"It was all over the place. And she said, 'Oh, what happened? That's so terrible'."
He continued: "They went into my young boy's room. These thugs are disgusting, and we cannot let them get away with this stuff. We have all the evidence, and we have to do something about it."
Following the raid, Trump demanded the Justice Department cough up $230 million in compensation - which he later upped to $1 billion.
Speaking on Friday, however, the President admitted he now had to 'settle', given that it's been his Justice Department since he returned to office.
"I brought a lawsuit and I’m winning the lawsuit," he joked. "There's only one problem: I'm the one that has to settle it."
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, Melania Trump
Rhianna Benson