The RNC Kicked Off On A Dark Note. WH Insists Melania Trump’s Speech Will Be ‘Uplifting’

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 07: First lady Melania Trump participates in an event with students, teachers and administrators about how to safely re-open schools during the novel coronavirus pandemic in the East Room at the... WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 07: First lady Melania Trump participates in an event with students, teachers and administrators about how to safely re-open schools during the novel coronavirus pandemic in the East Room at the White House July 07, 2020 in Washington, DC. As the number of COVID-19 cases surge across southern states like Florida, Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina and Arizona, Trump joined with guests from across the country to discuss how to responsibly return to the classroom. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.

First lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, said that the first lady’s speech, which is scheduled to headline the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night, would “definitely” be “very uplifting and positive.”

“We want everything to be positive and uplifting,” Grisham told MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson in an interview Tuesday. “The first lady is not known for being ominous.”

Grisham’s comments come after the Republican Party kicked off its convention Monday with an evening that was replete with ominous characterizations of President Donald Trump’s opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, as both a “socialist” and a “radical” who would sidle up to criminals while defunding the police, welcome illegal immigrants with open arms and destroy the American economy.

Campaign officials and Republican lawmakers have insisted that the RNC this week aims to portray the country in a more positive light — criticizing what some have called a “dismal” outlook and “depressing” vision of America conveyed by Democrats at their convention last week. 

“I think she makes a really good case to the American people why it’s so important her husband continue on as president for the next four years,” Grisham said Tuesday.

Aside from its significance as a headliner for the evening, the first lady’s speech has drawn attention since she was previously embroiled in accusations of having plagiarized her predecessor, former first lady Michelle Obama’s words during her 2016 convention address. 

Grisham assured that “every word” of Melania Trump’s speech would be “from her” and “very authentic.”

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Notable Replies

  1. oh wow I can’t wait.
    I can stare at her and know what has been uplifted from head to toe and wonder if I paid for it somehow.

  2. Yeah, Michelle already rehearsed it for her at the DNC.

  3. I try hard to remember that First Ladies are essentially “civilians,” in the Corleones’ sense of the term, but I find it very difficult to find any upside, or uplift, in this particular FLOTUS. She seems to me to be a vapid trophy wife, a Stepford wannabe. On the other hand, my Trumper friends assert she is the classiest FLOTUS ever, the second coming of Jackie Kennedy, because she wears nice clothes and speaks 5 languages(!!). In my experience, most people in Central Europe speak multiple languages, but my friends persist in believing that makes her some kind of genius.

  4. She can hardly speak English…

  5. But she’s fluent in $$$ — in fact, it’s her native tongue.

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