Presidential election in the United States: what role will Melania Trump play in the campaign?
First Lady Melania Trump will speak on Tuesday evening at the Republican convention. But what role will she play between now and the end of the campaign?
Melania Trump will speak Tuesday night at the Republican convention. The First Lady will not make the trip to Charlotte (North Carolina), the event being organized largely virtually, but she will deliver her speech from the Rose Garden of the White House, whose renovation she oversaw these last weeks. His speech should be done live, in accordance with what Donald Trump, who was very critical of Michelle Obama, whose speech at the Democratic convention was recorded, promised last week.
On the substance of the speech, Melania Trump will also have to distinguish himself from Barack Obama's wife. During the Republican convention of 2016, she had indeed sparked controversy after plagiarizing entire passages of a speech by her predecessor, dating from 2008. The "pen" of her speech had pleaded guilty, but the controversy had spoiled its first big moment in the spotlight. Above all, Melania Trump will now have to assume a new status, while Donald Trump is lagging behind in the polls.
She would like to commit more than in 2016
In 2016, she had only made a few appearances without her husband, remaining most of the campaign in the background. Will she do more a few months before the poll? According to journalist Mary Jordan, Pulitzer Prize 2003 and author of a biography published in June, Melania Trump would like to invest more in the re-election of her husband. "She knows that by becoming a more visible activist in 2020, she will likely become a bigger target," she writes, but "she still told people she wants to win re-election."
Can she play a decisive role with her husband? Anita McBride, former chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush (wife of George W. Bush), thinks so. "It was a turning point in 2004 for President Bush, when she gave his speech at the convention and said she saw his tussles over the decision to go to war, watching him walk his land as she reflected deeply on this intensely complicated time in America, ”she told CNN. “At that point, she made him more human, and gave people a different perspective, if they were willing to listen to her. Melania Trump could have that impact, too,” she explained. .
Especially since, according to Anita McBride, "she has now seen the impact she can have as a first lady". Since the billionaire's rise to power, Melania Trump has nevertheless been discreet. The one who lived in New York for a long time before moving to the White House with her son, Barron Trump, has focused on the welfare of children. She thus launched a campaign entitled "Be Best" for which she made a series of solo trips, notably through four African countries in October 2018, a continent that Donald Trump has not yet visited. as President of the United States.
The most popular member of the Trump family
It can also bring Donald Trump his popularity with the American electorate. Last year, a YouGov poll measured that she was the most popular Trump family member (51% favorable opinions), ahead of her husband (44%), Ivanka Trump (44%) and the rest of the clan, which will be widely highlighted at the Republican convention. "The first lady is a sought-after voice of the first family, which has the overwhelming approval and admiration of the American people," a spokesperson for the president's campaign confirmed last February.
What will Melania Trump do? The question remains a mystery. "The First Lady has no concrete plans to attend events, talk to fundraisers or try to convince voters," wrote CNN in early August, citing a close source. His agenda remains "open", also explained the news channel. First element of response Tuesday evening from the gardens of the White House.
