Melania Trump was asked by several people to give a speech at this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee—but declined each time, according to a new report from CNN. It’s a long-held tradition for candidates’ wives to speak at party conventions, one Melania dutifully upheld in 2016 and 2020 in support of her husband’s presidential bids. This time, however, Melania will take in the proceedings from the crowd. She is expected to make an appearance Thursday evening to take in her husband’s acceptance speech, which is set for just after 10 p.m. ET and is expected to run for 90 minutes. Melania has been noticeably absent from the campaign trail this cycle, only holding several closed-door events while declining to accompany her husband at his rallies and events. Trump’s third wife is also being accompanied to the convention Thursday by Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, both of whom worked in Donald Trump’s administration but disappeared from politics after he was voted out of office in 2020.
