Melania Trump says that, if she becomes first lady, she'd focus on combatting online bullying as part of her work as an advocate for women and children.
The wife of Donald Trump said today in a rare appearance on the campaign trail that, "Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and teenagers." She spoke at a rally outside Philadelphia.
She said that it's "absolutely unacceptable" when children are mocked, bullied and attacked online anonymously.Trump's goals may seem at odds with her husband, who has a long history of using Twitter to insult people.Mrs Trump said: "We have to find a better way to talk to each other, to disagree with each other, to respect each other."
She described her decision to move to the United States and eventually earn citizenship "as the greatest privilege in the world".In her speech she also celebrated her immigrant story, saying that growing up in her native Slovenia, "America was the word for freedom and opportunity."
She had been introduced to the audience by her husband's running mate's wife, Karen Pence, who praised Mrs Trump as "amazing" and "strong"
She said: "I know that America will fall in love with her, just as much as she loves the American people."
Melania Trump is being mercilessly mocked by his critics after a polarising campaign appearance this morning.
In her first major speech since the Republican National Convention in July - where she got in trouble for plagiarising Michelle Obama - Mrs Trump revealed what her one big goal as America's First Lady would be, should Mr Trump win the election.
Melania Trump
She wants to stamp out bullying, particularly on social media.
"Like anything that is powerful, (social media) can have a bad side," Mrs Trump told an adoring crowd of supporters.
"As adults, many of us are able to handle mean words, even lies. Children and teenagers can be fragile. They are hurt when they are made fun of, or made to feel less in looks or intelligence.
"Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and teenagers. It is never OK when a 12-year-old girl or boy is mocked, bullied or attacked. It is terrible when that happens in the playground, and it is absolutely unacceptable when it's done by someone with no name hiding on the internet.
"We have to find a better way to talk to each other, to disagree with each other, to respect each other. We must find better ways to honour the basic goodness of our children, especially on social media."
That's all very hard to disagree with, and yet the predominant reaction to Mrs Trump's speech has been one of unbridled scorn. Here, for example, is CNN anchor Jake Tapper's exasperated response.
We're getting peak Jake Tapper with Melania Trump's anti-bully speech pic.twitter.com/zzqNzjKdqp— Andrew Husband (@AndrewHusband) November 3, 2016
Mrs Trump's critics are accusing her of hypocrisy, pointing to Mr Trump's legions of abusive supporters on social media and the Republican nominee's long history of insulting people online. They say it's a bit rich for her to argue against cyber-bullying when the worst offender is her own husband.
"In her first campaign speech since the convention, the aspiring First Lady urged voters to 'treat each other with respect and kindness', as the nation burst into hysterical laughter," read a particularly contemptuous article from the Hollywood Reporter.
"If Melania is worried about online bullying, shouldn't she direct her comments at her husband first?" asked conservative pundit Amanda Carpenter.
"Melania's speech today would be like Bernie Madoff's wife giving a talk on the integrity of investment portfolios and fighting Ponzi schemes," said ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd.
"I kept thinking, 'Have you even met Donald Trump?'" said Mr Tapper's CNN colleague Dana Bash.
Mr Trump does have a habit of attacking people on social media. Here's a small sample of his more controversial tweets.
I feel sorry for Rosie 's new partner in love whose parents are devastated at the thought of their daughter being with @Rosie--a true loser.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2011
.@ariannahuff is unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man- he made a good decision.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2012
.@BetteMidler talks about my hair but I'm not allowed to talk about her ugly face or body --- so I won't. Is this a double standard?— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 28, 2012
Sorry folks, but Donald Trump is far richer and much better looking than dopey @mcuban!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 19, 2013
"@Don_Vito_08: "A picture is worth a thousand words" @realDonaldTrump #LyingTed #NeverCruz @MELANIATRUMPpic.twitter.com/5bvVEwMVF8"— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2016
That last tweet compared a photo of Melania Trump with an unflattering one of Heidi Cruz, the wife of Mr Trump's biggest rival in the Republican primaries. Classy.
Mrs Trump was last in the spotlight two weeks ago when she confronted the sexual assault allegations against her husband in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. She blamed a "left-wing" media conspiracy for the scandals, and dismissed Mr Trump's lewd comments in the infamous leaked Access Hollywood tape as "boy talk".
"As you can see from the tape, the cameras were not on. It was only a mic," she said.
"I wonder if they even knew that the mic was on because (it was) kind of boy talk and he was lead on, like, egged on from the host to say dirty and bad stuff."
"I don't know that person that would talk that way, and that he would say that kind of stuff in private. I heard many different stuff, boys talk. The boys, the way they talk when they grow up and they want to sometimes show each other, oh, this and that, and talking about the girls. But I was surprised."
Mrs Trump claimed it was "not a coincidence" that the tape, along with multiple allegations of sexual assault against Mr Trump, had surfaced just weeks before the election.
"It was all organised," she said. "They planned it that way because they don't want to talk about WikiLeaks and Benghazi.
"It was left-wing media, and you could see that and the way it comes out, everything is organised. This was all organised from the opposition."
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