“Amalija Knavs was a strong woman who always carried herself with grace, warmth, and dignity. She was entirely devoted to her husband, daughters, grandson, and son-in-law. We will miss her beyond measure and continue to honor and love her legacy.”
News of Knavs’ death comes after former president Donald Trump addressed his wife’s absence from holiday events.
“Melania — great first lady, so popular, the people love her — she’s now in a hospital with her mother. Her mother, Amalija, is very ill, but hopefully she’ll be recovering,” he told the crowd at a New Year’s Eve event at Mar-a-Lago.
“But she’s been very ill, so I just want to say ‘hello’ to the first lady — we just spoke, down in Miami, great hospital — and hopefully they’ll be ok. But it’s a tough one, it’s a very tough one. She knows probably about 95% of the people in this room. We just want to wish Amalija that she gets better as quickly as possible.”
Knavs was born in Slovenia, previously Yugoslavia and was a former textile worker. She and her husband Viktor lived in the United States, spending most of their time in Washington D.C. when their son-in-law was president. In recent years they lived at Mar-a-Lago.
The Knavses were sworn in as US citizens in 2018 through the sponsorship of their daughter, a visa category President Trump attempted to end.
