melania trump called for more-civil public discourse and condemned the <u+201c>bad side<u+201d> of social media, in a rare public speech on behalf of husband donald trump, the republican presidential nominee whose brash use of put-downs at rallies and on twitter has been a staple of the campaign. mrs. trump<u+2019>s debut on the campaign stump at a rally in the philadelphia suburb of berwyn, pa., was aimed at wooing female voters in a pivotal battleground state. pennsylvania currently leans toward democratic rival hillary clinton, polls show, but an upset for mr. trump here would greatly widen his path to victory on election day. she called her husband a man with <u+201c>deep love and respect for this country and all of its people<u+201d> who is distraught every time a factory closes. mrs. trump, a former model from slovenia who later became an american citizen, also lamented an increasingly coarse culture in which users of social media, especially children, belittle each other. <u+201c>our culture has gotten too mean and too tough, especially to children and teenagers,<u+201d> mrs. trump said. <u+201c>we have to find a better way to talk to each other, to disagree with each other, to respect each other.<u+201d> in a series of questions about the nation<u+2019>s future, she asked, <u+201c>do we want a country that respects women and provides them with equal opportunity?<u+201d> the crowd of trump supporters responded affirmatively. her description of her husband sharply contrasts with the mean sexist depicted by mrs. clinton and her allies, who have been hammering mr. trump for months over his history of making rough remarks about women. the clinton campaign released a new television commercial thursday that includes mr. trump<u+2019>s 2006 barb at comedian rosie o<u+2019>donnell, <u+201c>i<u+2019>d look her right in that fat ugly face of hers.<u+201d> the ad features images of children, while mr. trump is overheard threatening to <u+201c>punch<u+201d> a protester and making disparaging comments about mexicans, the disabled and former republican nominee john mccain. during the campaign, mr. trump has insulted a former miss universe , the parents of a dead muslim soldier and a mexican-american judge hearing a case against him. mr. trump faced one of the biggest firestorms of the campaign last month when an 11-year-old videotape surfaced in which he boasted about groping women. during the republican primary, he tweeted an unflattering picture of the wife of then-rival, ted cruz, whom he coined <u+201c>lyin ted.<u+201d> he calls mrs. clinton <u+201c>crooked hillary.<u+201d> the long list of mr. trump<u+2019>s targets goes on. mrs. trump only alluded to her husband<u+2019>s aggressive tactics, saying, <u+201c>he certainly knows how to shake things up, doesn<u+2019>t he?<u+201d> the gender gap is one of mr. trump<u+2019>s biggest challenges in locking down pennsylvania<u+2019>s 20 electoral votes. mrs. trump, who would be the first foreign-born first lady since louisa adams, also sought to smooth over the hard edges of her husband<u+2019>s immigration policy, which calls for deporting illegal immigrants and building a wall along the mexican border. <u+201c>do we want a country that is safe, with secure borders?<u+201d> she asked. mrs. trump<u+2019>s rally took place in chester county, one of a collection of big-city suburbs across the country with increasingly diverse, educated and affluent populations that lean democrat. of the four large counties outside philadelphia, chester was the only one in the state to favor gop nominee mitt romney in 2012 and only slightly. mrs. clinton has been topping statewide polls for months and currently holds a 4-point advantage, according to the real clear politics polling average. in a sign that her campaign sees the state as up for grabs, her campaign announced thursday she will rally in philadelphia with president barack obama, first lady michelle obama and former president bill clinton on the eve of the election. mr. trump is slated to campaign in hershey on friday. mrs. trump has made only a handful of high-profile appearances in the 18 months since she accompanied mr. trump down the escalator in new york city<u+2019>s trump tower to announce his presidential bid. positive reviews of her speech at the republican convention were overshadowed by revelations that it included some passages lifted from the speech given by mrs. obama at her husband<u+2019>s 2008 convention. as a procession of women accused her husband of sexual misconduct last month, mrs. trump sat for an interview with cnn<u+2019>s anderson cooper. she said she disapproved of mr. trump<u+2019>s crude remarks caught on videotape but called the allegations <u+201c>lies<u+201d> perpetuated by a biased media. mrs. trump<u+2019>s appearance serves as a reminder of how much the gop nominee has depended on family members instead of republican heavyweights to promote his campaign. mr. trump<u+2019>s four adult children have been his most loyal surrogates, with mr. trump<u+2019>s daughter, ivanka, serving as his most frequent ambassador to female audiences. after mrs. trump<u+2019>s speech, her husband tweeted a picture of himself aboard his plane and said, <u+201c>watching my beautiful wife, melania, speak about our love of country and family. we will make you all very proud.<u+201d> write to beth reinhard at beth.reinhard@wsj.com
melania trump calls for more-civil discourse while on stump for husband  - wsj
beth reinhard