RNC speakers: What to know about Melania Trump
Melania Trump is expected to give her RNC speech from the Rose Garden
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Melania Trump is expected to give a speech at the Republican National Convention from the newly renovated White House Rose Garden next week.
PRESIDENT TRUMP TO PARTICIPATE IN EVERY DAY OF REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
After Democrats' four-day virtual convention, Republicans are preparing for the opening night of their convention on Monday. The first lady is set to speak on Tuesday evening.
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The Republican Convention was supposed to take place in Charlotte, N.C., but coronavirus concerns forced the event to go mostly remote as well. President Trump is set to give his acceptance speech from the White House on Thursday, Aug. 27, the final day of the 2020 convention.
Here are four things to know about the first lady:
1. This won't be her first time speaking at the RNC
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Trump bucked tradition when, four years ago, he made a surprise appearance on the first night of the RNC in Cleveland to introduce his wife before her speech to the 2016 delegates.
First lady Melania Trump smiles during a speech at the Justice Department's National Opioid Summit at the Department of Justice on Friday in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The first lady's team is probably hoping for a much better response than the 2016 convention, which forced a speechwriter to apologize after Melania Trump's words were found to be too close to a 2008 Michelle Obama speech.
2. She's overseeing the redesign of the iconic White House Rose Garden
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Melania Trump is overseeing a renovation of the White House Rose Garden to restore it to its original 1962 blueprint dating back to the Kennedy administration.
“The very act of planting a garden involves hard work and hope in the possibility of a bright future,” she said in a statement. “Preserving the history and beauty of the White House and its grounds is a testament to our nation’s commitment to the care of this landscape and our dedication to American ideals, safeguarding them for our children and their children for generations to come.”
3. There's a Melania Trump statue in her home country Slovenia — but it was vandalized
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A wooden statue of Melania Trump near her hometown in Slovenia was reportedly set on fire on the Fourth of July, prompting its removal.
“I want to know why they did it,” Brad Downey, an American artist who commissioned the sculpture, told Reuters. If the suspect or suspects are caught, Downey said, he would like to interview them for a film he’s making that will be part of an upcoming exhibition of his work in the first lady's native country.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump place their hands on their chest during a "Salute to America" event on the South Lawn of the White House, Saturday, July 4, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The life-size crude rendering of the first lady was carved out of a tree trunk by a local artist and unveiled last summer.
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MELANIA TRUMP HONORED WITH ODD STATUE LIKENED TO A 'SCARECROW' IN HER SLOVENIAN HOMETOWN
4. She's focused on promoting foster care
Melania Trump has touted her husband's June Executive Order on Strengthening the Child Welfare System for America’s Children and said she's focused on promoting foster care.
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"Right now, there are over 400,000 children and youth in the foster care system and 124,000 of them are awaiting permanent placement with a forever family," she wrote in a Fox News op-ed. "It is our time to be the voice for these thousands of children waiting for a forever family — and it is our time to decide on how we proceed so we can do the most for children in need."
Fox News' John Roberts, Brie Stimson and Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.