Melania stands out compassionately addressing the pandemic

Melania – Whether the design is pleasing or not, it was clear that the media would not be giving Melania Trump the Jill Biden treatment when she spoke to the Republican convention.

She has been the least public first lady in decades, and English is not her native language, but the principal sin of this elegant former fashion model is that she’s married to…him. In the runup to Tuesday night’s appearance, journalists kept bringing up her 2016 address, in which a mishap caused her staff to plagiarize some passages from an old Michelle Obama speech.

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Before a small audience in the revamped garden, Melania Trump did what virtually no other speaker had: acknowledge the impact of the coronavirus and express sympathy for its victims.

Since March, she said, “our lives have changed drastically” because of “the invisible enemy.” She offered sympathy and prayers for those who have lost a loved one or are suffering, and said “Donald will not rest” until an effective treatment is found. That was no small thing at a convention that talked about the pandemic in the past tense, when it was talked about at all. It wasn’t just cheerleading. And she declined to use her time “to attack the other side.”

While not a natural orator, the first lady said she was humbled by coming here from a communist country and living the American dream. Despite “negative or false media headlines,” she said, the president won’t lose focus on helping the country. She also talked about Africa, drug addiction, violence and motherhood. It was, in short, a plain-spoken and compassionate talk.

While some pundits on Twitter credited Melania with speaking frankly about the virus, others questioned what she sees in her husband, ridiculed her outfit or laughed at her delivery. One called it “a Seinfeld speech…about nothing.”

Her words even won over some of the TV pundits, from CNN’s Dana Bash to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who said “that’s the first time in two days we have had even a straightforward expression of sympathy.” Fox’s Dana Perino said “she lights up the room.” But Joy Reid complained about using the White House as a backdrop.

Tuesday’s proceedings, heavy on family members (including Eric and Tiffany), was low on celebrity wattage. The party trotted out plenty of average citizens, from a Wisconsin dairy farmer to a Maine lobsterman, who like Trump. It was a lower-key evening that sought to soften the GOP’s image and strengthen its connection to small business owners, with remarkably little mention of the coronavirus or the 30 million unemployed. In fact, Larry Kudlow essentially talked about the pandemic in the past tense.

The first night of the virtual GOP show drew about 16 million TV viewers, compared to 19 million for the Democrats’ first night. The number was about 30 percent lower than four years ago, similar to the Dem dropoff. And nearly half of the live audience (7 million) watched on Fox News, compared with MSNBC as the ratings leader for the Democrats–suggesting these convention programs have little cross-party appeal.

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