Melania Trump vows war on social media bullies

Melania Trump (Getty)
Melania Trump (Getty)

Melania Trump has given her first speech since the Republican convention, using it to bemoan the type of cyber bullying many say her husband excels at.

Ms Trump said if she became First Lady, she would use her position to clean up social media, which has become "too mean and too tough".

"It is never OK when a 12-year-old girl or boy is mocked, bullied or attacked," Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump's wife told supporters in Philadelphia.

"It is terrible when it happens on the playground, and it is absolutely unacceptable when it is done by someone with no name hiding on the internet. We have to find a better way to talk to each other.

"We must find better ways to honour and support the basic goodness of our children, especially in social media. It will be one of the main focuses of my work, if I am privileged enough to become your First Lady."

She did not mention Mr Trump's recent behaviour on Twitter - including false claims a former Miss Universe contestant starred in a sex tape, accusations his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton "can't satisfy" husband Bill, calling a Fox News journalist a "bimbo", saying both Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington and actress Bette Midler are "unattractive ", calling actress Sarah Jessica Parker the "unsexiest woman alive" and criticising supermodel Heidi Klum as "no longer a 10".

During the Republican primaries, he also tweeted an unflattering picture of rival Ted Cruz's wife next to an airbrushed photo of Ms Trump.

Earlier this year, the New York Times compiled a list of "the 282 people, places and things Donald Trump has insulted on Twitter".

Nonetheless, Ms Trump said her husband would make an empathetic President.

"Every time my husband learned of a factory closing in Ohio or North Carolina or Pennsylvania, I could see him get very upset."

She also spoke of her immigrant background, calling it "the greatest privilege in the world" to become a US citizen.

"I'm an immigrant, and no one values the freedoms and opportunities of America more than me."

Ms Trump was introduced by Karen Pence, wife of Mr Trump's running mate Mike Pence.

"I know that America will fall in love with her just as much as she loves the American people," Ms Pence said before Ms Trump's speech.

Ms Trump's convention speech was widely criticised from borrowing phrases from a speech Michelle Obama, current First Lady, gave in 2008.

Newshub.