TORONTO — Melania Trump took a quick break from Washington.

Who could blame her?

As President Trump spent the better part of his weekend lashing out at professional athletes, John McCain and Kim Jong-un, Mrs. Trump traveled abroad without him for the first time as first lady, touching down in Toronto to attend an athletic competition for wounded service members and veterans.

In an official speech of 134 carefully selected words, Mrs. Trump told the American delegation to the Invictus Games to “take that fighting spirit that I know you have, and bring home the gold!” It was the latest in a recent string of high-profile appearances, all highly glossed and tightly controlled, that have fueled speculation about how Mrs. Trump feels about being first lady.

Is she shy? Is she reluctant? Those who know her say there’s no mystery: She is as cautious as her husband is impulsive, and shares little of his desire for the limelight.

Still, eight months on, Mrs. Trump is hinting at an emerging policy platform. In the past week alone, in addition to the Toronto trip, she delivered a speech on cyberbullying at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and dug around with young visitors in the White House garden. At the games, she wore a crisp suit and a smile as she met with Prince Harry and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, and later clapped for her country’s military heroes from her seat.