US President Donald Trump has drawn fresh attention for a highly personal and unusual segment of a campaign-style speech in North Carolina in which he complained about the FBI’s 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago property and described what he said agents did inside First Lady Melania Trump’s wardrobe.
Speaking in Rocky Mount on 19 December, Trump shifted from remarks on the economy to revisiting the federal search carried out in August 2022 as part of an investigation into his handling of sensitive government records after leaving office. In the speech, he described agents going “into my wife’s closet” and said they “looked at her drawers,” before praising Melania Trump as “a very meticulous person” and describing her undergarments as “folded, perfect”.
Trump said the items were “so perfect” and, in a line that prompted laughter in the crowd, added: “I think she steams them,” while gesturing as if steaming clothes. He then claimed that after the search, the drawers were no longer organised as before, telling the audience that when he and his wife returned, “it was not that way”, adding that “they were a mess”.
The comments were made as Trump again attacked the 2022 operation, calling it “illegal and disgusting” in the same address. The FBI search of Mar-a-Lago was conducted after investigators sought to recover government documents that officials said should have been returned at the end of Trump’s first term. The search produced multiple sets of records marked classified, and Trump was later indicted in a federal case centred on alleged mishandling of national security documents. That prosecution was ultimately dismissed in July 2024.
In the North Carolina remarks, Trump framed the episode as an example of what he has long described as politically motivated investigations, portraying himself as a target and referring to those involved in the search with hostile language. He also said agents entered other parts of the residence, including his son’s room, and described the officials responsible in derogatory terms.
The episode quickly circulated online, with video clips and excerpts spreading across social platforms as users reacted to the details he chose to share about his wife’s clothing and the state of her drawers. The exchange added to a pattern, frequently noted by critics and supporters alike, in which Trump’s rally speeches move between policy themes and digressions into personal grievances, political enemies and vivid anecdotes from his family life.
Melania Trump, who has generally maintained a lower public profile than many recent first ladies, has not publicly commented on the remarks. Trump, however, portrayed her habits as a point of pride, holding up her neatness as evidence of order and propriety that he said was disrupted by federal agents.
The North Carolina stop came during a period when Trump has repeatedly revisited the Mar-a-Lago search in public appearances, describing it as a major affront and using it to rally his base. While the search itself is now more than three years old, it remains one of the central episodes Trump cites when arguing that federal law enforcement and prosecutors pursued him unfairly.
The former president’s description of the incident also revived wider public discussion of the scope and conduct of the 2022 search, which was authorised by a warrant and followed months of negotiations and legal steps over the return of government records. Investigators have previously said the search was necessary because they believed additional documents remained at the property, including items marked classified.
In Rocky Mount, Trump did not present new evidence about the search but used the anecdote as a political message about intrusion, family and what he cast as disrespect toward his wife. He mixed the story with broader attacks on the Justice Department and investigators, and he returned repeatedly to the idea that the search crossed a moral line by entering intimate spaces of the family home.
The remarks also placed an unusual spotlight on Melania Trump’s personal routines, with Trump offering a level of detail that is uncommon for political speeches, even among leaders known for informality. The specific focus on “panties” and the suggestion they were steamed before being folded became a focal point for commentary online, with some users mocking the story and others expressing discomfort at the first lady being discussed in those terms.
Trump has often used rallies to attack institutions and individuals involved in investigations into him, including prosecutors, judges and law enforcement agencies. The Mar-a-Lago investigation, along with other legal matters, has been a recurring theme in his public appearances, and he has argued that his political opponents weaponised the justice system against him.
The classified documents case was among the most serious legal threats Trump faced after leaving the White House, with prosecutors alleging that sensitive records were retained improperly and that efforts were made to prevent their return. Trump denied wrongdoing throughout, describing the matter as a dispute over records and executive authority, and he portrayed the search and prosecution as a political attack.
For many in the audience in North Carolina, the anecdote played as a blend of outrage and humour, with Trump’s delivery and gestures drawing laughs at points even as he used the story to reinforce his broader message of grievance. The moment also underscored how Trump continues to fuse legal controversies with personal storytelling, using intimate domestic imagery as a way to make political points about power, treatment and perceived injustice.
As the exchange continues to reverberate online, it has again put a spotlight on how Trump communicates with supporters on the campaign trail and how his personal life is woven into his political narrative, sometimes in ways that prompt sharp and immediate reactions far beyond the rally venue.
