Melania Trump jokes as she returns after month away

US First Lady Melania Trump returned to a public White House event on Thursday, opening remarks in the Rose Garden with a joke about speculation over her absence.

“Good afternoon. I heard you missed me. Here I am,” she said with a chuckle.

She appeared with President Donald Trump, who sat in the audience after the couple walked from the Oval Office to the podium holding hands. The event marked a donation by IndyCar and the Fox Corporation to fund university scholarships ahead of an IndyCar race through Washington for the US 250th independence anniversary.

Melania Trump, 56, had last been seen in public at the FIFA World Cup final on July 19. She had skipped several major events, including the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner on July 24.

NBC said in an analysis on Monday that Melania Trump has kept a lower public profile in her second term as first lady, carrying out about half as many public events by this point as she did in her first.

Her appearance also came during scrutiny of Natalie Harp, a 35-year-old executive assistant to Donald Trump. The White House reacted angrily this week after a Democratic Senate hopeful questioned why Harp was among a small number of people who secretly switched from Air Force One with Trump in Turkey after a security threat.

Harp, who has been a frequent presence at Trump's side in his second term, did not appear to be present at the Rose Garden event.