Videos of Melania Trump reacting to Kid Rock’s performance at the Republican National Convention have gone viral online—and in one clip, it looks like she’s trying not to laugh.
Kid Rock—whose given name is Robert James Ritchie—brought the crowd to its feet on Thursday and had them chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!” for Donald Trump, Republican 2024 presidential nominee.
The rapper and ardent Trump supporter made a few changes to his hit song American Bad Ass to tailor it to the upcoming election. In place of the original lyrics, “Hey! Hey! Hey!” he had the audience yelling “Trump! Trump! Trump!” and he had named key battlegrounds for the upcoming presidential election, such as Pennsylvania and Arizona, instead of the locations named in the original version of the song.
Melania Trump’s reaction to Kid Rock’s performance has taken off on X, formerly Twitter. Newsweek contacted Melania Trump’s press team via the Office of Donald Trump website on Friday.
In one video uploaded to the social media site by user @emilybernay, it appears that the former first lady is stifling a laugh.
“Melania Trump trying not to laugh at Kid Rock is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen,” the video is captioned. It had been viewed 229,100 times at the time of writing.
In another video uploaded to X, this time by user @suspiciousminds, Melania Trump has her mouth agape as she watches.
“Top tier coverage from @CNN for this reaction from Melania Trump to Kid Rock #RNCConvention,” the caption reads. The video had been viewed 166,900 times.
Melania Trump arrived at the RNC at around 9 p.m. CT on Thursday, her first appearance at the convention.
Before Donald Trump’s speech on Thursday night, a picture of him and Melania Trump holding hands in an RNC hallway went viral on X. The post, made by X user and Trump supporter Ian Miles Cheong, received 56,100 in the first 20 minutes of it being shared.
Melania Trump and Kid Rock. Videos of the former first lady reacting to Kid Rock performing at the RNC have gone viral.
Chip Somodevilla/Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Although the Trumps have posed for pictures while holding hands in the past, they are not known for public displays of affection. Melania Trump has been observed pulling her hand away from her husband and swatting away the gesture. On Thursday she was also accused of “dodging” a kiss from Donald Trump in a video that has gone viral.
The moment happened during the former president’s acceptance speech after he was confirmed as the Republican Party’s official candidate for president.
Elsewhere in the night, Kid Rock heaped praise on Donald Trump, saying: “Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the most patriotic, badass on earth, President Donald J. Trump.”
Over the past decade, Kid Rock has grown increasingly polarizing. He has long been a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, which has oftentimes resulted in backlash. The rapper has started to make his concerts resemble Trump rallies by putting the former president on a giant screen, telling his audience “This is your president now, so deal with it!” according to one of his peers.
Donald Trump has returned the favor by having Kid Rock perform at RNC, introducing the rapper at one of his tour stops and appearing with him at a UFC fight in 2023.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.