Trump says women like Melania's 'style, class and grace' and defends her RNC speech saying 'it's not her first language'

US president Donald Trump and wife Melania Trump during the Republican convention: AFP via Getty Images
US president Donald Trump and wife Melania Trump during the Republican convention: AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump praised his wife, Melania Trump, as someone who Americans “love” following her speech to the Republican National Convention (RNC) last week.

The US president, whose latest interview with Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham aired on Tuesday, was discussing the Slovenian-born first lady after she received criticism for her pronunciation during that speech.

Asked about her appeal to women voters, a demographic that Mr Trump has struggled to receive support from, the president argued that Americans “like her, they love her style, her class, her grace”.

“I thought she gave an incredible speech,” he continued. “And you have to understand, it’s not her first language”.

It comes after social media users, who included actress and songwriter Bette Midler, ridiculed the first lady following her RNC address.

“How many people could come over and make a speech to the world, think of it, no think of it, she did an incredible job,” argued Mr Trump, who confirmed that his wife would be making more campaign appearances in the run up to election day.

“She’ll be very much involved, she wants to see this be a victory’, he added.

Ms Trump had appealed to American families with her RNC speech last week, in which she told Americans they were “not alone” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Still, that empathic counter to the Trump administration’s actions to date, attracted condemnation online.

Ms Midler, who later issued an apology for her comments, had tweeted that Ms Trump “can’t speak English”.

She also dubbed the first lady an “illegal alien”.

The actress admitted she was “wrong” to mock the president’s wife, who described becoming an American citizen “as one of the proudest moments of my life” following her childhood in Slovenia.

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