This month marks the month of the historic ratification of the 19th Amendment, where women were given voting rights. To celebrate its centennial anniversary, the White House held a special signing event, with first lady Melania Trump wearing white to honor the occasion.
The Daily Mail reports that Melania was present alongside her husband Donald Trump at the event celebrating the 19th Amendment at the White House. The first lady wore white to honor the Suffragettes, who fought for women’s voting rights. Melania wore a Michael Kors skirt suit to the event, where Donald also signed a posthumous pardon for women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony, who was arrested for voting back in 1872 before women were given the right to vote. The signing of the pardon also comes at a time where he faced backlash for wanting to block funding for the US Postal Service because it would be used for mail-in voting all over the country.
Melania previously wore the white outfit during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron back in 2018. Donald also delivered his remarks on the pardon during the event prior to the signing.
The first lady also shared photos of the event with her followers on social media. “100 years ago today, the #19thAmendment was ratified, securing the right to vote for American women. Today, @POTUS signed a proclamation recognizing this historic anniversary & we celebrate the countless contributions of women throughout our Nation’s history. #SuffrageMonth,” tweeted Melania.
Although her stance on mail-in voting is unclear compared to her husband’s, CNN reports that the ballots they have cast for the primary elections in Florida have been returned and accounted for. They assigned someone to pick up and drop off their ballots in Palm Beach. As per state law, the Trumps have signed affidavits authorizing individuals to pick up and drop off their ballots, similar to what they did back in March during the presidential primary.
Trump has repeatedly voiced out his opposition to mail-in voting despite having done that himself along with aides and fellow officials under his administration. Reasoning that mail-in or absentee voting would lead to the rigging of the elections or voter fraud, there has yet to be evidence to suggest that this would be a widespread problem despite instances being extremely rare.