Melania Trump, who is married to Donald Trump, condemns internet bullies

'Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough,' the controversial presidential candidate's wife said

Putting Donald Trump, and his wife Melania, in the White House would be anathema to much of what makes America great (Reuters)

Melania Trump has used a rare public appearance to condemn cyber bullying, as part of her plan to have prolific tweeter Donald Trump elected to president.

Mrs Trump described the perils of social media and her fears for how it can be used to attack people and mock them. It came as part of a speech where she promised that she would stand up for those who were bullied, alongside women and children, if her husband is elected.

"Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and teenagers," said Mrs Trump, delivering a get-out-the-vote speech in the Philadelphia suburbs with less than a week to go before Election Day. "It is never okay when a 12-year-old girl or boy is mocked, bullied or attacked" in the school yard, she argued, but it is "absolutely unacceptable when it is done by someone with no name hiding on the internet.”

"We have to find a better way to talk to each other, to disagree with each other, to respect each other," she said.

Mrs Trump spoke about her relationship with Mr Trump and their marriage, as well as the young son that they have together. Her speech appeared pitched at the suburban women who could be key in helping Mr Trump win states like Pennsylvania.

Mr Trump has been aggressive in the use of his Twitter feed throughout the campaign as well as in advance of it, and the insults that he has sent through it have been credited partly with allowing to achieve his fame. He has said that he is “not unproud” of his tweets, because they allow him to reach an audience that he otherwise wouldn’t be able to.

But Mrs Trump told the audience, "We need to teach our youth American values: kindness, honesty, respect, compassion, charity, understanding, cooperation."

In her remarks, Mrs Trump described her husband as a "fighter," beholden to no one, who "will never give up."

"He certainly knows how to shake things up, doesn't he?" she joked.