Melania Trump delivers heartfelt plea for racial unity as she delivers RNC speech

Melania Trump has made a heartfelt plea for racial unity in her speech to the Republican National Convention.

The First Lady urged Americans not to make assumptions based on race and also reflected critically on US history.

Mrs Trump said during her address in the White House Rose Garden: "Like all of you, I have reflected on the racial unrest in our country.

"It is a harsh reality that we are not proud of parts of our history... I encourage you to focus on the future while still learning from the past."

As protests continued over a police shooting of a black man in Wisconsin, she called for an end to “violence and looting”.

On the second day of the convention, the speech's warm tone was out of step with a Republican gathering that featured harsh rhetoric about Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

"I don't want to use this precious time attacking the other side because, as we saw last week, that kind of talk only serves to divide the country further," Mrs Trump told a crowd seated in the White House's Rose Garden, including her husband, President Donald Trump, in the front row.

In a speech aimed at voters who had abandoned the US leader, the first lady acknowledged the pain of the pandemic in a way few other speakers at the Republican convention have.

"Donald will not rest until he has done all he can to take care of everyone impacted by this terrible pandemic," she said. "My deepest sympathy goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one."

Mrs Trump also reflected on the racial unrest that has swept the country in the months since the death in May of George Floyd under the knee of a white policeman in Minnesota.

"I also ask people to stop the violence and looting being done in the name of justice, and never make assumptions based on the colour of a person's skin," she said.

The speech capped a day when Republicans sought to reshape the narrative around the economy by largely ignoring millions of jobs lost to the pandemic, which has cost more than 177,000 Americans their lives.

It was a case of emphasising a strength for Mr Trump, who still scores well in opinion polls on his handling of the economy even as approval of his handling of the pandemic and other issues has plunged.

Before Mrs Trump's speech, the tone at times echoed Monday's opening day, when Republicans reached out to their conservative core supporters by painting a dire portrait of a future America under Mr Biden's leadership.

Cissie Graham Lynch, granddaughter of the late evangelist Rev Billy Graham, said a Biden presidency would leave "no room for people of faith."

Mr Biden is Catholic, and his faith was highlighted at last week's Democratic convention where he was formally nominated.

Pete Buttigieg, a Democratic former Indiana mayor who ran for president before endorsing Mr Biden, challenged that characterisation on Twitter.

He recalled a walk Mr Trump took to a nearby church during protests outside the White House to hold up a Bible for photographers.

"They would speak of faith? The choice here is so simple. One man waves a borrowed Bible around, the other actually reads it," Mr Buttigieg tweeted.

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