Melania Trump made her first rally speech of this election cycle Sunday night at her husband's Madison Square Garden event. The Hill calls it an "exceedingly rare" appearance by the former first lady, and notes that Donald Trump's campaign did not list his wife among the speakers for the rally. She was introduced by Elon Musk, and she in turn went on to introduce her husband, first delivering her own remarks for less than five minutes before embracing Donald Trump as he took the stage for his speech. The Independent calls her comments "a bleak, but misguided, diatribe about how bad things are" in New York City specifically, not to mention the rest of the country.
She said that though NYC is "the world's undisputed capital of industry, where titans of finance, fashion, and entertainment convene," it's also an "unforgiving" place. "And sadly, today, a declining quality of life, coupled with economic instability, makes it difficult for businesses and American ingenuity to blossom among determined citizens who race across city streets, and between offices, striving for success," she said, before going on to claim crime is on the rise in the Big Apple as well as across the nation. Per the Independent, stats show crime is actually down in the city, the state, and the country. Prior to her appearance Sunday, Melania Trump appeared but did not speak at the Republican National Convention, and hosted two fundraisers for Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBTQ+ group. (More Melania Trump stories.)