Melania Trump is the enduring mystery, the X-Factor, in Donald Trump’s re-election bid.
Polls show she is the third most admired woman in the US, behind her predecessor as First Lady Michelle Obama but ahead of another former First Lady Hillary Clinton.
Yet unlike Obama and Clinton, the 50-year-old dislikes the spotlight and is a reluctant campaigner.
Which is why it was so rare and refreshing to see her give a prime time address to the Republican convention about Donald Trump, her role as First Lady and the state of America.
The Slovenian-born former model is no natural orator but she has improved since the campaign trail in 2016 when I watched a stilted and visibly nervous Melania give a robotic speech to voters in a large barn in Pennsylvania five days before the election.
At the Republican Convention that same year she gave a speech which saw her accused of partly plagiarising a Michelle Obama speech.
This time around, Melania’s address was a compassionate and human take on the state of the US. Unlike her husband and many other Republicans, she was more honest and open about how the coronavirus has changed the US and how much people and the country are hurting.
On the issue of racial unrest, she called for common sense, for a pause in the ongoing street violence. She chose not to use her speech to attack the Democrats in contrast to the attack last week by her predecessor Michelle Obama on the Republicans.
Much of the rest of her speech was about the work she does for her “Be Best” initiative which seeks to raise awareness about the opioid crisis, promote child welfare and discourage online bullying.
Despite her often frosty demeanour, White House strategists believe she is an asset for the president, especially at a time when he needs to improve his standing with female voters and especially suburban women.
Republicans have been pushing the First Lady to campaign frequently for Trump in the months ahead, but she is reported to have agreed so far to only the occasional speaking engagements, in keeping with her preference for a low profile.
Melania is still the most secretive and enigmatic First Lady in the modern era. In the first year of Trump’s presidency she gave eight speeches compared to 74 for Michelle Obama.
She sticks closely to motherhood-style scripts when speaking and rarely reveals herself to an audience.
She makes the news only occasionally and then usually involving minor fashion controversies such as when she wore a colonial-era pith helmet in Africa or when she donned a jacket with the words “I really don’t care, do u?” on it when visiting migrant children at the US-Mexican border.
Melania is popular with Republican voters but many Democrats express disappointment that she is such a low profile First Lady, especially when compared with her more activist predecessors such as Michelle Obama and Laura Bush.
Yet a recent book “The Art of Her Deal; The Untold Story of Melania Trump,” by Washington Post journalist Mary Jordan dispels the notion that Melania is a wallflower rather than a political player.
The book says she is not a pawn but rather she is a backroom player in the White House who carries genuine clout with the president.
Melania was said to be the force behind Trump’s backdown on the “zero tolerance” border detention policy which saw children separated from their parents and she reportedly wields significant influence over who Trump hires and fires.
Could it be that this unconventional First Lady could be the X-Factor that helps Trump win a second term? This speech was a good start, but will Melania be willing to step into the spotlight more often in the coming months and play a higher profile role in her husband’s re-election bid?
Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia
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