Former first lady Melania Trump had a grand entrance at the 2024 Republican National Convention on Thursday, walking out to classical music as the crowd applauded. But she broke decades of tradition by heading straight to her seat.
The nominee’s spouse has spoken at the event for the past 30 years, something former first lady Barbara Bush started in 1992. Donald Trump’s wife spoke at the 2016 and 2020 conventions, with her first speech garnering headlines thanks to portions that were plagiarised from a 2008 speech by former first lady Michelle Obama.
Melania Trump has been largely absent from the public eye recently, despite her husband’s ongoing headline-making events, from his presidential campaign to his hush money trial.
Melania Trump was photographed on Thursday afternoon at the RNC, including during a photo op as her husband signed the official documents to become the Republican nominee for president. For the first three days of the convention, she did not make an appearance in the VIP box.
In his speech accepting the nomination, Donald Trump took a moment to acknowledge his “amazing wife, Melania” and praise the lengthy statement she put out after he was shot in an attempted assassination during a rally in Pennsylvania. As the former first lady wrote, “A monster who recognised my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion ― his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration.”
“Melania, thank you very much, you also did something really beautiful, a letter to America calling for national unity, and it really took the Republican Party by surprise, I will tell you, it was beautiful,” Trump said. “In fact, some very serious people said we should take that letter and put it as part of the Republican platform. That would be an honour, right?”
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