Melania Trump to tout immigrant story, ‘housewife’ appeal at Republican convention

Melania Trump, who married Donald Trump after immigrating to the United States as a young fashion model, will attempt to soften the president's rocky reputation with women and immigrants in a star turn at the second night of the Republican convention.

The first lady, who rarely speaks at length in public and has been less directly in the media eye than many other presidential wives, has the main slot in the lineup with an address from the White House's iconic Rose Garden.

Her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, promised something "very positive and uplifting."

The first lady will follow a controversial speech by heavy hitting Trump supporter and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who broke with longtime tradition to campaign openly for the president while on diplomatic business in Israel.

Other speakers making the case for Trump against his Democratic rival Joe Biden include daughter Tiffany and son Eric. On Monday, eldest son Don Jr spoke, while daughter and omnipresent White House advisor Ivanka will take to the podium on Thursday.

One person who didn't address the nation on Tuesday, however, was a so- called "angel mom," Mary Ann Mendoza. She had been due to tell the story of her son's death after he was hit by a drunk driver who was in the country illegally.

She was yanked from the schedule at the last minute after it emerged that she had just retweeted an elaborate anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about Jews taking over the world.

– 'Suburban housewives' –

Mendoza was chosen to highlight Trump's relentless focus on illegal immigration, a policy at the heart of his popularity with the Republican right.

However, Melania Trump's role was to humanize a president seen by Democrats as cruelly exploiting anti-immigrant feelings for political gain.

"Something I think people forget is she really embodies the American dream," Grisham told Fox News.

"She came from a working class family and is an immigrant who came to this country and worked very, very hard to achieve her dream."

The campaign is also hoping that Melania Trump's appearance will reach the women voters that opinion polls show are turning to Biden.

Trump, who has been dogged by more than a dozen accusations of sexual assault and harassment, as well as multiple claims of extramarital affairs, is working hard to get what he calls the "suburban housewives" on his side.

Almost daily, he warns that Democrats will bring a scary combination of violent crime and lower house prices to those women.

Melania Trump, 50, will again seek to show a softer approach. Asked if regular US women could relate to someone who arrived in New York as a high- flying model from Slovenia and became billionaire Trump's third wife, Grisham said "absolutely."

"I think this first lady is very, very relatable," she said. "She will talk about her role as a mother."

– What virus? –

The coronavirus pandemic, which has left more than 178,000 people dead in the United States, millions unemployed and dented Trump's reelection hopes, was for the second night almost completely ignored at the convention.

Instead, speaker after speaker hit Trump's main talking points on his desire to get the economy reopened and to fight what he terms — in often wildly colorful terms — the Left's threat to end the American way of life.

Pompeo's appearance by video was yet another blow to traditional etiquette at a convention which for the first time is being staged in part at the White House.

An appearance at a party convention is unusual for a top US diplomat and the Biden campaign accused Pompeo of "blatant use of his office for overtly political purposes."

"Secretary Pompeo's decision to serve as an errand boy for the President's reelection on a taxpayer-funded diplomatic mission… is absolutely disgraceful," Biden's deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said.

According to Israeli media, Pompeo may have taped his remarks from the rooftop of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, providing a backdrop of the Holy City that may appeal to Trump's evangelical supporters.