Melania Trump acknowledges COVID-19's impact on America
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First Lady Melania Trump said, "Donald will not rest until he has done all he can to take care of everyone," at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday from the recently renovated Rose Garden that she helped design.
What she's saying: To an audience of about 50 people, including President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, the first lady noted, "It is in times like this that we will look back and tell our grandchildren that through kindness and compassion, strength and determination, we were able to restore the promise of our future."
- "I have been moved by the way Americans have come together in such an unfamiliar and often frightening situation," she added.
- "I want to extend my gratitude to all of the health care professionals, frontline workers, and teachers, who stepped up in these difficult times."
Melania Trump acknowledged that her husband is "not a traditional politician ... He doesn't just speak words. He demands action, and he gets results."
- "No matter the amount of negative or false media headlines or attacks from the other side, Donald Trump has not and will not lose focus on you. He loves this country and he knows how to get things done."
"Growing up as a young child in Slovenia, which was under communist rule at the time, I always heard about an amazing place called America, a land that stood for freedom and opportunity. As I grew older, it became my goal to move to the United States and follow my dream of working in the fashion industry."
On equality, Melania Trump claimed that the president "has built an administration with an unprecedented number of women in leadership roles."
- However, only 27.6% of the 877 key executive branch nominees the president has recommended for Senate confirmation have been women — lower than former Presidents Barack Obama (43%) and Bill Clinton (37%), the New York Times notes.
On international diplomacy, She said, "President Trump became the first president to talk about the importance of religious freedom at the United Nations, giving hope to people of faith around the world."
- However, other world leaders have raised this issue at the UN, including Obama in 2012.
She also spoke on race, asking people "to stop the violence and looting being done in the name of justice and never make assumptions based on the color of a person's skin."
- "We must remember that today we are all one community comprised of many races, religions and ethnicities. Our diverse and storied history is what makes our country strong, and yet we still have so much to learn from one another," she added.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with more details of Melania Trump's speech and further context.
