'My husband is ready to lead this great nation': Melania Trump

Former model Melania Trump delivered an uplifting, positive speech on Monday night on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, portraying her husband Donald Trump as the candidate ready to lead the nation.

But first, the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee made an unusual appearance in order to introduce her. The lights came down, and as Queen's "We are the Champions" played in the arena, Trump walked on stage, CBS News reported.

He thanked the roaring crowd and promised, "Oh, we're going to win. We're going to win so big," before going on to deliver a brief one-sentence introduction to "the next first lady...., my wife, an amazing mother, and an incredible woman, Melania Trump."

The 46-year-old said the business mogul "will never, ever let you down" and that he "always has been an amazing leader," CBS News quoted Melania as saying.

"My husband is ready to lead this great nation," she said, adding "He is ready to fight every day, to give our children the better future they deserve."

During her address, Melania touched on her upbringing in Slovenia, "a small, beautiful and then communist country in Central Europe," her "elegant and hard-working mother," and her father's impact on her "passion for business and travel," ABC News reported.

"After living and working in Milan and Paris, I arrived in New York City 20 years ago, and I saw both the joys and the hardships of daily life," ABC News quoted former model as saying.

She joined the crowd in applauding her declaration that becoming an American citizen was "the greatest privilege on planet Earth".

She used the later half of her speech focussing on topics that were sometimes controversial for her husband.

"Donald intends to represent all the people, not just some of the people. That includes Christians and Jews and Muslims, it includes Hispanics and African Americans and Asians, and the poor and the middle class," she said.

"The primary season, and its toughness, is behind us?. The race will be hard-fought, all the way to November," ABC News reported citing Melania as saying.

"It would not be a Trump contest without excitement and drama," she added.

While she described Trump in a positive light, she didn't offer any examples or anecdotes of her life with her husband.

"His achievements speak for themselves, and his performance throughout the primary campaign proved that he knows how to win," she said.

Melania also congratulated the 16 Republican hopefuls for their wins during the primaries which began in March.

The three-day convention began on Monday night in Cleveland, Ohio, with some 5,000 delegates representing the country's 50 states, the District of Colombia and five US territories. .

--IANS

ksk