Trump portrays her husband, famous for his often vulgar and insulting Twitter feed, as a devoted family man in rare public appearance ahead of election day

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Melania Trump, whose husband has built a public profile partly around his vulgar and offensive Twitter account, called for a gentler and kinder America on Thursday, where children can spend time on social media without fear of harassment.

In a rare public appearance, Trump portrayed her husband as a devoted family man with “deep love and respect” for all Americans with a speech intended to help soften his public image with women.

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“Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and teenagers,” Trump said at a sports center in Berwyn, a suburb of Philadelphia suburb. She drew cheers as she continued.

“It is never OK when a 12-year-old girl or boy is mocked, bullied or attacked. It is terrible when that happens on the playground and it is absolutely unacceptable when it’s done by someone with no name hiding on the internet.”

As first lady, Melania Trump said she would work to combat online bullying and harassment. As a presidential nominee, Donald Trump has used Twitter to mock and degrade his opponent and women who have criticized him. He also has a pattern of sharing posts from sources with a history of spreading racism, antisemitism or white supremacy.

Melania Trump’s speech was a direct appeal to suburban women who remain wary of the Republican nominee. His dire standing with women, and especially with white educated women who have been a cornerstone of Republican support, has imperiled his chances of winning key battleground states like Pennsylvania.

Hillary Clinton’s lead in Pennsylvania has dropped slightly as the race tightens in the final days of the campaign. Yet women in the state favor Clinton by 20 percentage points, according to a new Quinnipiac University swing state poll.

Melania Trump recalled her upbringing in communist Slovenia, and the distinct memory of waking up as a 10-year-old and learning that Ronald Reagan had been elected president of the United States.

“It began to feel like morning around the world, even in my small country. It was a true inspiration for me,” she said, in reference to the memorable line from Reagan’s 1984 campaign.

Trump has studiously avoided the spotlight of her husband’s presidential campaign, allowing her step-daughter, Ivanka, to play the role typically filled by the candidate’s spouse.



Her last public appearance was a speech at the Republican national convention that was initially well-received but ended in calamity after it emerged that key passages had been lifted from a speech delivered by Michelle Obama at the 2008 Democratic convention.

Donald Trump recently made light of the incident at a charity dinner in New York, which he attended with his wife.

“Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves it. It’s fantastic. They think she’s absolutely great,” Trump said at the Alfred E Smith Memorial Foundation dinner. “My wife Melania gives the exact same speech and people get on her case, and I don’t get it.”

Melania Trump has stood steadfast by her husband’s side as more than a dozen women have come forward to accuse him of sexual harassment and assault.

In a handful of recent media interviews, she said that she was appalled by the language used by her husband in a decade-old Access Hollywood video that emerged last month, but dismissed the remarks as just “boy talk”. In the tape, Trump can be heard bragging that his fame enables him to grab and kiss women without their consent.

Addressing the spate of allegations that emerged in October, Trump told CNN that the accusations of sexual misconduct brought against her husband by more than a dozen women were “lies” and claimed the charges are part of a coordinated campaign by the opposition to smear her husband.

In Pennsylvania, Trump promised that electing her husband president would put the country on course to economic prosperity, and that by his side, she would help promote “respect and kindness” in all facets of American life.

“Donald Trump will make America fair. He will make America safe. He will make America prosperous. He will make America proud,” she said in closing.



“And, yes, this man I know so well, Donald Trump, with your help and God’s grace, will make America great again.”