What to Know
When Melania Trump spoke at the Annual First Lady’s Luncheon, it wasn’t the first time she gave a speech to a room full of people who hung on her every word. It also wasn’t the first time she was criticized for her thick accent and questioned about why she continues to make public speeches. It was another moment in a long string of them where Donald Trump’s critics came for Melania because they are tired of everything the family represents.
After a clip from Melania’s speech was posted on X (formerly Twitter), other users shared just how fed up they are. Some called Melania’s speech delivery an “embarrassment.” Others questioned how she has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, but seemingly has a difficult time grasping the English language. Yeah, they were pretty brutal.
This is the same woman who was given an “Einstein visa.”
A sweaty Melania Trump struggles to read her speech at the 113th Annual First Lady's Luncheon.
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) April 23, 2026
Embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/XIJyF2Skg4
During Melania’s speech, she spoke about initiatives she hopes to implement to improve the foster care system. Of those, she said to the thousands of people in attendance, “This will mark the second piece of legislation I have championed for the protection of America’s next generation.”
She also explained how to chart your own course in making progress in the world: “Progress is not granted, you must be the composer, embolden your influence in the community with a strong vision to the future.”
And that’s all well and good, but her thick accent had some of the harsher Trump critics asking what she said, and wondering if there were subtitles to go along with the clip posted on X.
“Geez, Zelensky speaks better English than this woman of such privilege and means who could have easily hired the best of teachers in all those 30 long years she’s been in this country,” someone wrote on X. “What’s her excuse?”
Someone else said, “If the First Lady of any Democrat administration talked like that the right would be having a complete melt down.”
Another pointed out how Melania was given an Einstein visa, which is the nickname of a visa given to individuals coming to the U.S. with a certain level of experience and expertise in arts, education, business, or athletics. According to the BBC, Melania was given one because of her modeling career.
Still, someone commented, “Zero excuse for that ‘Einstein visa’ recipient.”
People don’t understand why her English sounds like this after decades in the U.S.
Melania doesn’t have to lose her Slovenian accent, or even stop speaking Slovenian at all. The issue that some have is that her accent is so thick that apparently it’s hard not to poke fun at her, especially given the way Trump is so careless with what he says about other people.
“Shouldn’t someone here on an Einstein visa be able to read and write English by now?” Another person asked.
Trump once spoke about his first wife’s accent.
Trump was married to his first wife, Ivana Trump, from 1977 until 1990. Like Melania, Ivana had a thick accent. In Ivana’s case, her accent was due to her being from the Czech Republic. And once, when Trump spoke about Ivana on The Howard Stern Show, he made fun of her accent.
According to Town & Country, Trump said that one day suddenly, “It was terrible, I couldn’t stand it.” He hasn’t said anything like that about Melania, but he doesn’t really need to, because countless users on social media are basically doing that for him.
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