Melania calls Trump 'sir' at home, president reveals at Texas rally backing Ken Paxton

From the Newshound archive · first published 8 October 2026.

President Donald Trump disclosed at a San Antonio rally on Wednesday that Melania, his wife of 21 years, addresses him as "sir" rather than by his name or any term of endearment. The revelation came as he recounted an episode in which Melania corrected his pronunciation of "vegan," telling the crowd: "My wife told me 'sir, you have to do me a favor — it's not vay-gan, it's vee-gan.'" Trump was in Texas to campaign for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, marking his fourth trip to the state in six weeks.

The pronunciation dispute arose from Trump's repeated description of Paxton's opponent, Democrat James Talarico, 37, as a closet vegan — a characterisation Talarico denies.

Talarico, a seminarian currently polling ahead of Paxton, responded that he has "been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton's first indictment."

Trump then addressed Melania directly from the stage, saying: "He's a vegan — see, Melania? I got that right," appearing to relish having got the word right at last.