The First Lady received a standing ovation and rapturous applause after her name was mentioned. The former model smiled at the fantastic reception and stood up to wave at those around her. Ivanka Trump, who was sitting just a few rows up from the First Lady, smiled and clapped for her stepmother along with her husband Jared Kushner.
Melania was wearing a smart navy jacket, buttoned up, with matching trousers.
Earlier in the night, the First Lady tweeted: “POTUS and I are honoured to welcome our inspiring guests to join us at the SOTU.
“Each of them have a story – however painful, joyful or hopeful – these stories bring all Americans together.”
About an hour and a half later she tweeted the same thing again, this time with a full stop at the beginning so that the tweet would appear on her feed, not just as a reply.
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Melania also broke presidential tradition last night when she travelled to the State of the Union address alone, instead of with her husband.
It is longstanding protocol that the fire couple leave the White House together and travel in a limousine to Congress.
However, Melania left around 40 minutes before the President and had her own motorcade to accompany her.
The First Lady’s deputy chief of staff for communications Stephanie Grishman told CNN that she wanted to make sure her guests are comfortable.
She said: “Mrs Trump knows this is an important night, and wants to ensure the experience of her guests is special, and they feel comfortable.”
Donald and Melania Trump were yesterday criticised for their choice of guests.
One guest is a schoolboy called Joshua Trump, was was allegedly bullied for sharing his surname with the President.
One Twitter user said: “‘Kid bullied for being named Joshua Trump.’ How is this real life?”
Another said: “Thousands of kids bullied every year. For being disabled. For being LGBTQ+. For being a different race.
“I feel awful for Joshua Trump and he deserves no amount of bullying, but it says a lot that he is the one kid Donald and Melania want to highlight as a bullying victim.”