Melania Trump Faces Backlash for 'Barely Looking Up' at Crowd During Prepared Speech: 'I Feel So Embarrassed for Her'
Melania Trump's critics claimed she didn't look up enough from her pre-prepared speech to military families.
Nov. 12 2026, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Melania Trump's critics have called out the first lady after she appeared to deliver a speech to service members without a teleprompter, blasting her for barely looking up at the audience as she read from printed notes instead, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
President Donald Trump's 56-year-old wife joined the Second Lady, Usha Vance, at Fort Rucker, an Army base in southern Alabama, on Thursday, November 12, to pay tribute to troops and their loved ones ahead of Thanksgiving; however, some didn't think Melania showed enough sincerity, given her lack of eye contact.
Melania Trump Thanks Military Families for Their 'Profound' Sacrifices
Melania Trump glanced up at the audience every sentence or two while reading aloud her preprepared speech.
Flanked by imposing Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, Vance gave a brief speech while occasionally looking down at the written copy, telling the audience, "Now, it's my privilege to introduce a woman who has devoted herself to serving our nation's children and families and who represents our country with such grace and dignity."
When the former model took the stage, she was more reserved and kept her focus on delivering her speech, looking up less often than Vance.
Melania showered military families with praise, calling them the "foundation for the world’s most capable military" and emphasizing the "profound" sacrifices they make while their loved ones serve the nation.
Melania Trump Accused of Having 'Zero Eye Contact' With Audience
Critics slammed Melania Trump for not looking up enough from her written speech.
Frequent Trump family critic Aaron Rupar took Melania to task on X, posting a clip of her address and snarking, "Melania can barely be bothered to look up from her prepared task as she reads a speech."
One user scoffed in the comments, "Of course the vacant-eyed, botoxed Barbie can't be asked to read her own script with any conviction. It's almost impressive how she manages to exude even less warmth and charisma than a cardboard cutout."
"Because literally everything has to be written for her. It's not as if what she's saying is coming from the heart. She doesn't even understand half of what she is reading," a second person responded to Rupar's post.
"Melania reading that speech like terms & conditions. Can't even look up, eyes glued to paper like 'let me finish and go home.' Zero energy, zero eye contact," a third user sneered.
A fourth person had issues with the Slovenian native's heavy accent, huffing in the comments, "I feel so embarrassed for her. So much money and so much free time, and yet she keeps failing basic elocution courses. Einstein visa my a--!"
Melania Trump's Heavy Accent Has Made Her a Punching Bag
Fiercely private Melania Trump has never appeared being comfortable giving public speeches.
Melania has long been a favorite target of critics, who have mercilessly mocked her thick Slovenian accent throughout her six years as first lady, particularly during the rare public speaking engagements that thrust the fiercely private mother of one into the spotlight.
During President Trump's first term, then-FLOTUS spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham delivered a rare public smackdown of The View after outspoken co-host Sunny Hostin appeared poised to mock Melania's accent while reading aloud a statement the first lady had published in The New York Times.
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Melana Trump's Team Called Out 'The View' as 'Disrespectful' After Near Accent Taunt
Whoopi Goldberg quickly shut down 'The View' co-panelist Sunny Hostin as she was about to break into a Melania Trump accent impression in 2018.
Even Whoopi Goldberg appeared to realize Hostin was about to cross a line, swiftly shutting down her co-host before she could launch into a full-blown impersonation of Melania's distinctive Eastern European accent.
Grisham wasted no time firing back, publicly blasting The View's panelists as "disrespectful and hypocritical" for "mocking someone’s accent."
