Melania Trump's bronze statue chopped off at ankles and stolen in Slovenia, police launch probe

SEVNICA, SLOVENIA: Melania Trump’s bronze statue, which was inaugurated in 2020 close to her hometown of Sevnica in Slovenia, has reportedly gone missing.

The first lady’s statue was first chopped off at the ankles before being taken away, The Guardian reported.

On Thursday, May 15, Alenka Drenik Rangus, a spokesperson for the police, said, “The theft was reported on 13 May and immediately police officers visited the crime scene and launched an investigation.”

The creator of the statue, Brad Downey, a Berlin-based American artist, shared, “My feeling is that it has something to do with the new election [of Donald Trump], but who knows, right?”

Melania Trump's bronze statue was stolen years after the wooden one was set on fire

The incident happened nearly five years after the original life-size wooden sculpture was set on fire on July 4, 2020.

At the time, police spokeswoman Alenka Drenik had said, as per The New York Post, “The investigation in this case has not been completed yet so we cannot reveal details due to the interest of further procedures.”

It's not clear if Melania herself had seen her statues. After Trump became president for the first time in 2017, it was expected that he would visit his wife’s home nation, but the trip has yet to take place.

Biographer claims Melania and Donald Trump ‘live separate lives’

Meanwhile, a recent report has claimed that the former model and her president husband are “separated.”

According to prolific Trump biographer Michael Wolff, "They clearly do not in any way inhabit a marriage as we define marriage," The Independent reported. 

“And I think maybe we can more specifically say they live separate lives. They are separated. The president of the United States and the first lady are separated,” he stated.

His comment came as a New York Times report claimed that the mother of one has spent fewer than 14 days at the White House since her husband assumed office for the second time.

Melania had herself said ahead of the inauguration that she "will be in the White House. And, you know, when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach."

White House communications director calls biographer ‘an imbecile of the highest order’

White House communications director Steven Cheung swiftly slammed Michael Wolff, calling him "a blithering idiot."

He added that the biographer has been "widely discredited due to his blatant lies and fabrications."

"He is an imbecile of the highest order and his Trump Derangement Syndrome-addled brain has caused him to lead a miserable existence devoid of reality," Cheung noted.