President Donald Trump offered an awkward non-response aboard Air Force One on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, when a reporter asked whether he had given First Lady Melania Trump flowers for Valentine’s Day, quickly shifting the topic to praise her documentary film instead.
The uncomfortable exchange unfolded on Presidents’ Day evening as the 79-year-old president and first lady flew back to Washington, D.C. from their Florida resort, where they had spent the Valentine’s Day weekend at Mar-a-Lago. When pressed about his plans with Melania, Trump initially seemed unsure of how to answer.
“Did you do anything for Valentine’s with her? Did you give her flowers?” the reporter asked again. Trump made an awkward expression and replied cryptically: “I better not tell you that. Goodbye, everybody. That’s the toughest question!”
Instead of giving a direct answer, the president pivoted to promoting Melania’s self-titled documentary, which premiered in theaters on January 30. “No, she’s…I’m proud of the fact her movie’s so successful. It’s a tremendous hit,” Trump said, before shifting to praise her humanitarian efforts. He predicted she would “go down as one of the truly great first ladies when you see what she’s doing with Russia, Ukraine.”
The documentary, called “Melania,” achieved the highest-grossing opening weekend for a non-concert documentary in more than ten years, earning roughly $7 million to $8 million in its first three days. Amazon MGM Studios paid an astonishing $40 million for distribution and invested another $35 million in marketing, making it the costliest documentary ever produced. Even with strong box office results, critics heavily panned the film — it holds only 11 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a punishing 5 out of 100 on Metacritic, signaling “overwhelming dislike.”
The film chronicles the first lady during the 20 days leading up to President Trump’s January 2025 inauguration. Amazon also revealed plans for a companion docuseries. Melania Trump earned $28 million from the agreement — a figure that triggered ethics concerns and accusations that Amazon sought favor with the administration.
Trump also told reporters that Melania was traveling with him on Air Force One, repeatedly calling her a “movie star.” The 55-year-old former model later exited the aircraft at Joint Base Andrews wearing sunglasses in the dark, prompting amusement online.
The pair was seen together at Mar-a-Lago on Valentine’s Day, where Trump was filmed dancing alone to a live band performing Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” while Melania attended the dinner. The White House commemorated the holiday with a Valentine’s Day message featuring the couple.
The Trumps, who were married on January 22, 2005, at Bethesda-by-the-Sea church in Palm Beach, Florida, celebrated their 20th anniversary in January — coinciding with Trump’s second inauguration. Their lavish 2005 wedding brought about 350 guests to Mar-a-Lago, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, and showcased a $100,000 Christian Dior gown with a 13-foot train.
The couple made a rare appearance together on Feb. 13 at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where President Trump spoke to several hundred soldiers at Pope Army Airfield. The visit honored special operations forces who took part in Operation Absolute Resolve, the January raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. During his speech, Trump joked about possibly relocating to the base “someday.”
“Maybe I’ll move here with our great movie star…with our First Lady,” Trump told the audience. Turning to Melania, he asked, “We’ll move to Fort Bragg. Would you like that, darling?” She laughed and appeared to nod.
The Air Force One exchange sparked mixed responses, with supporters and critics interpreting the moment differently. Some applauded Trump for highlighting Melania’s accomplishments rather than discussing personal matters, while others suggested his evasiveness implied he hadn’t done anything special for Valentine’s Day.
Throughout the brief conversation with reporters, Trump continued to spotlight Melania’s humanitarian efforts, especially her work involving children affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He told journalists the first lady “works very hard” and predicted that history would regard her highly. Melania Trump has publicly said that Russian President Vladimir Putin responded in writing to her outreach on behalf of Ukrainian children separated by the war, describing his reply as showing “a willingness to engage with me directly.” She has spoken about their correspondence at the White House and says they maintain an “open channel of communication” on the issue.
The exchange highlights Trump’s longstanding reluctance to discuss private aspects of his marriage. Instead of giving a simple yes or no about Valentine’s Day gifts or flowers, he redirected attention to Melania’s public achievements — leaving the original question unanswered as he reiterated that the first lady was indeed aboard the presidential plane.
