Melania Trump.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock)

How to describe that walk? It was interminable without being leisurely, a one-woman military parade. As a piece of stagecraft, Melania Trump's appearance on the second night of the Republican National Convention was meticulous, far more interesting visually than anything we have seen in either convention so far. The unmistakably stratonic flavor of the address was underscored by the first lady's outfit, the designer equivalent of a Soviet military jacket.

Before a small mask-less audience in the Rose Garden, Melania spoke plainly about a series of mostly anodyne issues: the pandemic, gratitude for medical professionals, her foreign travel, her ongoing "Be Best" initiative. She also discussed the centenary of the 19th amendment, the subject of a recent children's art competition she judged at the White House. She told the story of a child who had received a heart transplant and addressed the victims of natural disasters, the plight of drug addicts, racism, and crime.

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Matthew Walther

Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.