Milwaukee: Donald Trump’s elusive wife Melania made a rare appearance at the Republican National Convention in support of his third bid for the White House, but broke with decades of tradition by not speaking at the high-profile event.
Wearing Republican red, Melania, 54, walked, alone, into the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday accompanied by classical music.
She has kept a low profile during her husband’s 2024 White House bid. She had not been spotted in Milwaukee since the convention kicked off on Monday.
Last week, Melania issued a statement calling for unity following an assassination attempt against Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
"This morning, ascend above the hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence. We all want a world where respect is paramount, family is first, and love transcends. We can realise this world again. Each of us must demand to get it back. We must insist that respect fills the cornerstone of our relationships again," she said in a statement.
Trump’s family, minus Melania, entered the convention arena after Trump signed paperwork formally accepting the Republican nomination. They went to the family box and stood throughout a boisterous speech by the wrestler Hulk Hogan.
Melania entered later, smiling and waving to the supporters of Trump.
"On this journey, I am deeply honoured to be joined by my amazing wife, Melania," Trump said during the acceptance speech to extended applause.
“And Melania, thank you very much.” He said she “did something really beautiful” when she wrote her statement pleading for unity after the attempt on his life.
Melania later joined Trump on stage, startling him as she walked up behind him after his record 93-minute speech.
It is traditional at party conventions for the candidates' spouses to give a speech and tell heavily-scripted anecdotes about family life.
On Wednesday evening, Usha Vance - the wife of Trump’s newly-minted running mate JD Vance - did just that. But Melania skipped delivering a speech.
Ever since her husband was first elected in 2016, Melania Trump has broken all the rules of normal American presidential politics.
In the White House during Trump’s first term, she was a reclusive figure compared to other first ladies, focusing on a narrow set of interests.
With Melania Trump taking a backseat this year, that job fell to other speakers, who painted a sympathetic portrait of Trump by sharing anecdotes of warm interactions between him and their children.
And since her husband left office, she has not been seen by her husband’s side on many occasions.
She wasn’t there when he had his mugshot taken in Atlanta. She wasn't there in New York when he became the first former president to be convicted of a crime. And she wasn’t there when he officially won his party’s presidential nomination, for the third time, on Monday.
The former first lady spoke in both 2020 and 2016 during Trump's presidential nomination. She was accused of borrowing from Michelle Obama’s 2008 speech in her first appearance in 2016.