Melania Trump softens aggressive Republican speech and calls for unity

By Alfonso Fernandez

Washington, Aug 25 (efe-epa).- United States First Lady Melania Trump delivered a Tuesday speech in which she addressed the pain caused by the coronavirus pandemic and offered comfort to the victims, in contrast to the dominant belligerent discourse during the republican convention.

“My deepest sympathy goes out to all those who have lost a loved one, and my prayers go out to those who are sick and suffering,” she said.

“Since March, our lives have changed dramatically,” she said. “The invisible enemy, COVID-19, flooded our beautiful country and impacted us all.”

The first lady closed the second night of the convention with a speech from the White House with her husband among the public, in which she referred to the coronavirus pandemic that has left more than 175,000 deceased.

She also commented on the racial unrest in the country, with waves of protests over repeated cases of police brutality against African-American citizens.

“It is a harsh reality. We are not proud of parts of our history. I encourage people to focus on our future, while still learning from our past,” she said.

Her words were a stark contrast to the tone of the previous speakers, both Tuesday and Monday, with continuous warnings about the end of the American dream and the arrival of oppressive socialism if Joe Biden wins the elections.

Co-president of Latinos for Trump, Jeanette Núñez, asked for the vote for the current president because “the United States will never be a socialist country” while defending her resolution to “confront the tyrants” in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

Similarly, Larry Kudlow, the main economic adviser to the White House, pointed out that the country is experiencing “a boom” by referring to the pandemic as if it had passed, despite the country having the highest number of infections in the world, with more than 5.6 million.

As with the first day, the president took advantage of his pulpit for eminently partisan acts that have provoked criticism from the Democratic opposition for being inappropriate and of doubtful legality.

One of the most striking was his participation in nationalizing five immigrants, whom he said “followed the rules” and “obeyed the laws,” in an unusual ceremony that was broadcast during the Republican National Convention.

The migrants were two men from Bolivia and Ghana and three women from Lebanon, India and Sudan.

The president, who has tried to drastically reduce irregular and legal migration, congratulated the new citizens and addressed them one by one, telling their stories and merits.

Previously, Trump had granted a presidential pardon to John Ponder, a former prisoner for theft and who has launched a partnership to facilitate reintegration.

“Ponder’s life is a beautiful testimony to the power of redemption,” the president said.

Another of the most controversial moments was the intervention of Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, who is in Israel on a work trip and spoke from Jerusalem, a city that President Trump recognized as the Israeli capital in 2017.

Pompeo also broke the tradition that left the secretary of state of the moment out of the conventions, in deference to the obligations that being the leadership of American diplomacy entails.

“The president moved the US embassy to this very city of God, Jerusalem, the legitimate capital of the Jewish homeland. And the president negotiated a historic peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which our grandchildren will read in their history books,” he said.

Wednesday will be the turn of Vice President Mike Pence, who will lead the third night of the convention from Fort McHenry in Baltimore (Maryland), known for being the site of a battle that in 1812 inspired the composition of the United States national anthem.