First lady Melania Trump offered sympathy for victims of the coronavirus pandemic and a plea for racial understanding in a Republican convention speech on Tuesday aimed directly at the women voters who have abandoned U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump's wife acknowledged the pain of the pandemic in sharp contrast to most other speakers at the party's national convention, notably her husband, assailed by Democrats for his lack of solace during a U.S. health crisis that has killed more than 178,000 people.
"I want to acknowledge the fact that since March, our lives have changed drastically," Melania Trump told a crowd seated in the White House Rose Garden, the president in the front row. "My deepest sympathy goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one."