When Donald Trump takes the stage to deliver his speech to a joint session of Congress tonight, his wife, Melania, will be in the audience, and she'll have several unique guests with her. But they're not celebrities or dignitaries. They're everyday Americans "from all different walks of life" whose lives have been impacted by "disaster wrought by the previous administration."
Some of the First Lady's guests have been victims of crimes committed by people who are in the United States illegally, like Allyson and Lauren Phillips of Woodstock, Ga. You might know them better as the mother and sister of Laken Riley, the young nursing student who was brutally murdered on the University of Georgia campus by a Venezuelan gang member who was not only in the U.S. illegally but had also committed many previous crimes.
Mrs. Trump will also have Alexis Nungaray of Houston, Texas, at the speech. Nungaray's 12-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, was murdered by two men whom the Biden administration caught at the border and released into the U.S. just weeks before they committed the heinous crime. U.S. Border Patrol agent Roberto Ortiz will be in attendance as well. While serving in Texas, he's been shot at many times by dangerous cartel members.
Related: 'One of the Largest Human Smuggling Organizations in the U.S.' Busted
Remember Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who was shot and killed when a gunman tried to assassinate Trump at a rally last July? His widow, Helen, and their daughters, Allyson and Kaylee, will join the first lady on Tuesday night.
Former Russian hostage Marc Fogel and his 95-year-old mother, Malphine of Butler, Pa., will be there, too. The history teacher was sentenced to 14 years in a Russian prison for attempting to visit the country with medical marijuana. In February, after making a promise to Malphine, Trump secured his release and even invited Marc to the White House upon returning to the U.S.
A couple of the First Lady's guests have been the victims of abhorrent gender issues. January Littlejohn of Tallahassee, Fla., is the mother of a young girl whose "middle school socially transitioned" her "to a different sexual identity without January and her husband’s knowledge or permission." Littlejohn is now a parents' rights advocate.
Payton McNabb of Murphy, N.C., a young female volleyball player who had to step away from the sport "when a biological man playing on the opposing women’s team spiked the volleyball at Payton’s face, leaving her with a traumatic brain injury," will be there. McNabb is now a member of the Independent Women’s Forum and an advocate for girls' sports.
Among Mrs. Trump's other guests are 15-year-old Elliston Berry, "who was the victim of computer-generated deepfakes created by a bully at her school intended to humiliate and degrade Elliston and her friends." On Monday, the First Lady attended a roundtable with members of Congress to discuss this issue and the harm it does to young people in this country.
She's also invited Jeff Denard of Decatur, Ala. — he's a steel worker, volunteer firefighter, and foster dad who responds to natural disasters, including Hurricane Helene — as well as Stephanie Diller, the widow of an NYPD officer who was shot by a repeat criminal during a traffic stop.
Last but not least, the first lady will have Haley Ferguson from Spring Hill, Tenn., by her side. Ferguson is a former foster student who is now an early childhood education major at Middle Tennessee State University. She is in school courtesy of a scholarship she earned through Mrs. Trump's own Be Best initiative.
I've heard a lot about what the Democrats plan to do tonight during Trump's speech, and I'm already cringing at how tacky it is. But knowing that these people will be in the audience is just downright embarrassing. Can you imagine? You're supposed to be one of the country's great leaders, and you're face-to-face with your constituents, such as the mothers of young girls who were violently murdered. Your plan? Using hand-clappers, walk-outs, and egg cartons to throw fits because your side didn't win an election. No wonder these people lost.
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