Contrary to her husband Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump’s stance on mail-in voting is unclear. Recent reports have revealed that the Trumps have requested mail-in ballots for the Florida primary elections on Tuesday.
The primary elections in Florida will be taking place this week, and reports have revealed that Melania and Donald Trump have requested mail-in ballots to cast their votes, with their previous election records found in Palm Beach County. The president has requested the ballots to be received at his Mar-a-Lago resort estate, which is listed as his permanent address.
This request for mail-in ballots contradicts Trump’s comments about mail-in voting, with his attempts to block funding for the US Postal Service to further disrupt mail-in voting in every state. Trump has repeatedly insisted that mail-in voting would be open to voter fraud, a claim that has already been refuted several times in many studies. The studies have also revealed that mail-in voting does not benefit one party over another, referencing Trump’s other claim that mail-in voting would ensure that no Republicans would get elected. Trump has even suggested delaying the November elections, a suggestion that was met with resounding bipartisan dismissal.
His GOP colleagues in several states have also, by the contrary, embraced mail-in voting especially at this time where COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the US. Some states are already known to practice mail-in voting as well. Trump has, however, defended mail-in voting in Florida, saying that mail-in voting in the state is not as vulnerable compared to others.
Despite her husband still seeking to actively campaign throughout the pandemic, Melania is generally lying low, but CNN reports that she is expected to make an address for her husband in the upcoming Republican convention. Some have already expressed that they expect Melania to be more meticulous this time in her speech compared to her 2016 address, which was met with some criticism for plagiarizing some parts of her predecessor Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic convention speech.
According to former first lady Laura Bush’s former chief of staff Anita McBride, Melania’s address should be as personal as she can, as a way to humanize her husband. McBride recalled Bush’s 2004 address about her husband, where she talked about his personal struggles behind the scenes about whether to go to war at the time. “In that moment, she made him more human, and gave people a different view, if they were willing to listen. Mrs. Trump could have that impact too,” said McBride.