Donald Trump said in an interview aired Thursday that his wife, Melania, will give “two or three speeches” during the remainder of his presidential run, praising his press-averse spouse as “an amazing public speaker.”
Trump delivered the news in a sit-down interview alongside Melania on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” their first joint appearance since a cascade of allegations of sexual assault against the Republican presidential nominee, which were also discussed.
Asked by host George Stephanopoulos if she wants “to get out there yourself and help (Trump) out in the final two weeks,” Melania Trump said “we’ll see” before Trump jumped in.
“She’s actually going to make two or three speeches,” Donald Trump said. “She’s amazing when she speaks. She is an amazing public speaker. So she’s agreed to do two or three speeches, and I think it’s going to be big speeches, important speeches. I think it’s going to be great.”
Melania Trump has been conspicuously limited as a campaigner, making few political statements or appearances during the 2016 cycle. And her biggest moment in the spotlight — her speech at the Republican National Convention over the summer — became a disaster after observers noted that significant portions of it appeared to have been plagiarized from a speech by Michelle Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
Trump’s previous promises that his wife would make public statements have yet to come to fruition. In August, when she was facing scrutiny, he said she would hold a news conference to discuss her immigration story, which hasn’t happened.
“They said my wife, Melania, might have come in illegally. Can you believe that one?” Donald Trump had said. “Let me tell you one thing. She has got it so documented, so she’s going to have a little news conference over the next couple of weeks. That’s good. I love it. I love it.”
Stephanopoulos asked the potential first lady what her focus would be should her family move into the White House, and she pointed to negativity on social media as a primary concern.
“I will focus on helping children and women and also about social media in this 21st century, what’s going on — it’s very hurtful to children, to some adults, as well, but we need to take care of children,” she said. “We need to teach them how to use it, what is right to say, what is not right to say and — because it’s very bad out there, and children get hurt.”
Stephanopoulos then asked, “Do you give him advice about tweets?”
“Yes, I do, all the time,” Melania Trump replied.
“Hey, look, it’s a modern-day form of communication,” Donald Trump said, laughing. “It’s a big asset. You have to use it right. But it’s a big asset.”
Asked about the women who have come forward to accuse her husband of sexual assault, Melania Trump dismissed the charges as “lies.”
“They were — they were lies, and as I said before, all the accusations, they should be handled in a court of law,” she said. “To accuse somebody of — without evidence, it’s very hurtful and it’s very damaging and unfair. And — but honestly, do we still need to talk about that? I think American people want to hear the problems that we have in America.”
“She’s so right about that,” Donald Trump added. “I can’t apologize for something that I didn’t do.”
Stephanopoulos asked if he still planned to sue his accusers as he recently said he would. “We’ll see what happens, OK? Let’s see what happens on November 8,” Trump said.
