Melania Trump vows to take on cyberbullying as first lady
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Melania Trump, husband of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, walked on stage to deliver a speech at the Main Line Sports Center in Berwyn, Pa today.
BERWYN, Pa. » Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, made a rare appearance on the campaign trail today, pledging to focus on combatting online bullying and serve as an advocate for women and children if her husband is elected to the White House.
Her description of the perils of social media seemed at odds with her husband’s divisive and bullying rhetoric throughout the campaign.
“Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and teenagers,” said Mrs. Trump, delivering a get-out-the-vote speech in the Philadelphia suburbs with less than a week to go before Election Day. “It is never okay when a 12-year-old girl or boy is mocked, bullied or attacked” in the school yard, she argued, but it is “absolutely unacceptable when it is 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,” she said.
The highly personal speech, which also touched on conversations with her young son, her marriage and her own experience as an immigrant, appeared aimed at humanizing her husband in front of an audience of suburban women who are critical to Trump’s hopes in Pennsylvania and other key states.
For years, Trump has used his Twitter account to berate and insult his rivals along with reporters, pundits and others who he feels have slighted him. Some educators have even described a so-called “Trump effect” increase in bullying inspired by Trump’s bombastic rhetoric.
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Nonetheless, Mrs. Trump told the audience, “We need to teach our youth American values: kindness, honesty, respect, compassion, charity, understanding, cooperation.”
The appearance came as Trump’s rival Hillary Clinton and her allies have tried to paint the Republican nominee as anti-women, a strategy Democrats see as the best hope for rattling him and driving female voters away.
Thursday’s speech at the Main Line Sports Center was Mrs. Trump’s first since she addressed the Republican National Convention in July. That speech was well-received initially, but was quickly overshadowed by the discovery that sections had been plagiarized from first lady Michelle Obama’s address to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
While Mrs. Trump has given several television interviews and appeared by her husband’s side at events, the former model is more often seen than heard. She explains her frequent absence from the campaign trail by saying her priority is raising the couple’s 10-year-old son, Barron.
In her remarks, Mrs. Trump described her husband as a “fighter,” beholden to no one, who “will never give up.”
“He certainly knows how to shake things up, doesn’t he?” she joked.
She also spent time describing how, growing up in her native Slovenia, “America was the word for freedom and opportunity. America meant: If you could dream it, you could become it.”
Receiving U.S. citizenship after a 10-year process, she said, was “the greatest privilege in the world.”
There were plenty of “Women for Trump” signs in the crowd of several hundred, who repeatedly interrupted Mrs. Trump’s 10-minute speech with cheers and applause. Throughout the audience were the suburban women whose votes Trump hopes to shore up on a path to victory Tuesday.
Kris Goodman, 65, of Berwyn, said she believes Mrs. Trump would be a “great first lady” and an asset to her husband in the White House. Goodman, who has already voted absentee for the Republican nominee, said she was impressed with Trump’s wife at the convention this summer.
“I think both she and (Trump’s daughter) Ivanka are great examples of women of this century,” Goodman said. “What’s in the media, I don’t think portrays his record and how he deals with women.”
In addition to his wife, Trump’s four oldest children have also been campaigning across the country, along with supporters like House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Meanwhile, Clinton’s campaign has deployed her husband, former President Bill Clinton, along with President Barack Obama, Mrs. Obama and a long list of celebrity backers to help her get out the vote.
65 responses to “Melania Trump vows to take on cyberbullying as first lady”
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Mrs. Melania Trump would make a wonderful First Lady.
Why cause she is married to a bully?
“Look, the average Democrat voter is just plain stupid. They’re easy to manipulate. That’s the easy part.” –Hillary Clinton, as told to Dick Morris in “Rewriting History”, 2005
Snipes says that the bogus quotation in your post “was not uttered by Hillary Clinton and was not published in the 2005 book Rewriting History by Dick Morris. We found no record of the quote in any major publication. In fact, the first mention of this quote came in October 2015, more than a decade after Morris’ book was published, on a Tumblr page dedicated to generating fake Hillary Clinton quotes”
Quotes by the fake HiLIARy sounds more realistic. Lock up the female felon.
Use right-wing propaganda as sole source of knowledge. Type lies. Cut. Paste. Repeat.
@bsdetection…I detect BS from you
@kolohepalu…being in denial is not a good thing…but is the norm for a lib who’s confronted with the TRUTH…sad.
They’re both deceivers.
she’s a trophy wife and nothing more
“Look, the average Democrat voter is just plain stupid. They’re easy to manipulate. That’s the easy part.” –Hillary Clinton, as told to Dick Morris in “Rewriting History”, 2005
No matter how many times you repeat this bogus quotation it won’t be true.
@ bsdetection…I detect BS from you
Maybe also a gold-digger
Yeah. I’ve always wanted a pornographic model for a first lady….not!
“Look, the average Democrat voter is just plain stupid. They’re easy to manipulate. That’s the easy part.” –Hillary Clinton, as told to Dick Morris in “Rewriting History”, 2005
This quotation is fake. Like Trump, you appear to believe that a lie told often enough becomes true. It’s still a lie, just like Trump’s claim that he opposed the war in Iraq.
@ bsdetection…I detect BS from you
This is another easy one. Two clicks. People need to be more imaginative when quoting made up stuff.
http://www.snopes.com/hillary-clinton-stupid-quote/
Hey, if she can keep her husband off Twitter at 3:00 a.m. it might help reduce the cyber-bullying.
If your idea for a First Lady is a third rate model, part-time porn actress, plagiarism enthusiast. and someone who was literally paid to be his wife…then yes, absolutely wonderful.
“Look, the average Democrat voter is just plain stupid. They’re easy to manipulate. That’s the easy part.” –Hillary Clinton, as told to Dick Morris in “Rewriting History”, 2005
Keoni, why don’t you tell us your highest level of education and what you have done professionally in your life? That’s what I thought…crickets.
That’s what I thought….the Trump voter, and this is statiscially proven, the lowest educated in decades–so you must be feeling pretty comfortable.
So obvious why you don’t “see” the source of my comment…or rather more importantly what your beloved hiLIARy is saying about YOU…are you the blind…can you read?
What is your comprehension level?
This quotation does NOT appear in the Dick Morris book, and no matter how many times you repeat this lie it won’t be true. You are the one who is “rewriting history.”
Cut and paste the exact quote and the preceding paragraph–that’s what I thought, crickets…..awkward silence.
Check Snopes. “False”
@CelloDad…you got me! I confess that was me who quoted that 😉
Show me them dirty pics.
Oh my goodness. She should definitely start with her husband.
exactly. what a joke
Yep. Plenty experience.
“You GO Girl!” Advocate for “Cyber Bullying”…. maybe Uncle Joe Biden can take a few classes of “Anger Management” from Melania for calling out Donald Trump ,saying he wants to beat him up in “The Back Of the Gym’! Haaaaaaaaaa!
First Lady Melania Trump will be wonderful addition to the WH for a change! At least,after 8 years in the WH, she won’t be walking out of the WH with stolen Silverware or White House furniture ……like the Clintons. And guess what? they got caught for it! Had to return everything! You can’t make this stuff up! lol
Indeed,not only is she stunning ,but also a very kind ,generous and intelligent women!
I wonder…. is She half Hawaiian? ie:” Melania” Haaaaaaaaaaaa! Go Trump!
She is a joke who is in denial. Bullying is a most ridiculous topic for her to discuss being that her husband is an admitted pu–y grabber. Alias Chester the Molester.
Ridiculous? You better tell that to Michelle Obama too! Remember?
Here are a couple of her husband’s tweets…
@michellemalkin You were born stupid!
A dishonest slob of a reporter, who doesn’t understand my sarcasm when talking about him or his wife, wrote a foolish & boring Trump “hit”
Barney Frank looked disgusting–nipples protruding–in his blue shirt before Congress. Very very disrespectful.
She’ll put him on a curfew, no dumb tweets after midnight!
Curfew, muzzle…
Chumps 4 adult children,newt, and rudy. What a sad supporting cast. Absolutely no match for Hillary’s Dream Team.
Hilliar’s dream team its more like recycled garbage.
You wish. He’s so hard up for support that he needs to depend on family and two washed up ex politicians. He can’t get any prominent anybody to speak on his behalf. His other problems are the undereducated and disillusioned who are his base whose opinions don’t mean sh-t to a person of reasonable intelligence.
Beautiful speech by a member of a beautiful family. Trump train is rolling. All Aboard.
Beautiful family–nothing like having children from three different wives, one of them conceived while he was still married.
It’s hilarious that trump and his supporters continue to try to portray clinton as a liar when trump has lied at a breathtaking pace during his campaign. A recent politifact assessment determined that trump has made more than 100 false claims and more than 50 of the “pants on fire” variety. In contrast, clinton’s false claims number 20 and 5 of the “pants on fire” type.
She would be a great first lady and I would hate to imagine what Bill would take on as first husband…
We should be more worried about the Chump as president. The first woman or man is really insignificant. Although it is a fact that Bill Clinton is a twice elected POTUS and left office with an extremely high favorable rating. Melania on the other hand can barely speak English. She would fit in more as the First Lady of Russia.
Really – you think someone who posed for porn is an appropriate first lady?
I haven’t seen your picture.
That kind of comment is consistent with the bottom-feeder that is your candidate
When voting one should always remember the following.
The difference between Republicans and Democrats is this;
The Republican sees a poor and or unfortunate person and says, “this is my money, get away you can’t have any”.
The Democrat sees the same person and says, “look at that poor person, they don’t have any money, lets give them some of yours.”
Vote Libertarian, use your money for good works as YOU see fit.
The poor don’t created jobs.
the illiterate can’t form sentences
I see there’s no denying the premise.
I’ll deny the premise.
Why don’t you run along now and buy yourself a new personality? Make it a good one this time.
They’re not expensive – but probably beyond your means nonetheless.
retire – Spot on ! LOL !
Melania will make a great, sophisticated first Lady in the East Wing. What class.
If you’re placing Trump with the word “class”, you must be wearing blinders.
The Republicans also hire illegal immigrants and pay them dirt cheap. They also use their wh-re- in congress to see that they don’t pay their fair share of taxes. Even worse like the Chump who’s proud that he doesn’t pay shi-.
Her husband is the biggest bully on the block. Maybe she needs to take off that plastic surgery blind she has on.
She’s the expert on bullying. She married one.
She is talking out of her a-s. Her as-h-le husband is the king of cyber bullying. He is a twitterholic who knows no boundaries when it comes to insulting anyone who disagrees with his opinions. He is also a admitted sexual predator who boasts of grabbing women’s puss-????????
We’re still waiting for the Trump lawsuit against the media outlets that reported that the owner of the modeling agency that first imported Melania also ran an escort service. Strange silence.
This is too rich. Did it occur to anyone in the Trump campaign how ludicrous this is? Maybe she’ll find time as first lady to take on plagiarism, too.
Accent and all, it’s a variation on an old theme- the social climber, glamour girl hits it big. Now, her true class is hard to stomach.
It does seem strange that the campaign chose fighting cyberbullying to be her cause as First Lady when Trump is the kind of vengeful rants on Twitter against multiple individuals. If she wants to fight cyberbullying, perhaps, she can begin by taking away her husband’s smart phone.
She should start the crusade with her husband,s tweets.
Social Media, the downfall of families where the wife or husband and even kids spend their time laughing at every joke or video someone post while sitting at a dinner table in a restaurant. People don’t talk anymore just stare at their phone while watching tv or with friends. People have to go places just to take pictures so they can post them for everyone to see your new toy or the nice dish you are eating or the mountain you climbed. So now Mrs. Trump wants to tackle Cyber Bullying. People just need to get a life.