First lady Melania Trump argued for her husband’s re-election from the White House grounds, saying he was fighting for Americans, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo weighed in from Jerusalem, as the second night of the Republican convention entered unusual territory for a political event.
The speeches capped a night of programming that carried made-for-TV flourishes that upended norms for a convention, including videos of President Trump issuing a pardon and conducting a naturalization ceremony from the White House. It also featured more of an optimistic tone than Monday’s opening night of the convention.
In a convention marked by glossy tributes to Mr. Trump, the first lady made the most direct acknowledgment of the toll that the coronavirus pandemic has taken, with more than 178,000 Americans killed. “I know many people are anxious and some feel helpless,” Mrs. Trump said. “I want you to know you are not alone.”
She praised the people who elected her husband in 2016. “We have not forgotten the incredible people who were willing to take a chance on a businessman who had never worked in politics,” she said, calling on them to award him a second term. She also acknowledged the civil and racial unrest that has swept across the country in recent months, calling for peace and unity.
Mrs. Trump and Mr. Pompeo both bucked tradition with their remarks. It is not typical for a sitting secretary of state to give political speeches, particularly while on a diplomatic mission overseas, and political activity is generally not conducted on White House grounds.
Mr. Pompeo’s speech extolled the foreign-policy decisions by the president, including the deadly strike on Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani and moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. “President Trump has put his America First vision into action,” he said. “It may not have made him popular in every foreign capital, but it has worked.”
A Democratic-led congressional committee said it would open an investigation into whether Mr. Pompeo’s speech—recorded during a trip aimed at urging Arab countries to forge formal ties with Israel—violated federal regulations or State Department guidelines on political activity.
Mr. Pompeo addressing the Republican National Convention on Tuesday from Jerusalem.
Photo: Republican National ConventionThe State Department said it wouldn’t bear any costs in connection with his appearance and wasn’t involved. Mr. Pompeo is thought of as a future Republican presidential candidate.
President Trump’s aides have defended the unconventional arrangements of speaking from the White House after the party was forced to cancel most of its in-person convention events due to the coronavirus pandemic. A government body charged with enforcing the rule that restricts political activity by federal employees said Mr. Trump could speak from the White House, but the rules would apply to his staff. The White House said it would uphold those.
Much of the program Tuesday night was divided between praise for President Trump’s economic policies and a focus on issues such as abortion and criticizing the news media. Attacks on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden carried over from Monday night, with speakers warning he would raise taxes and limit business expansion.
The focus on the economy underscored one of Mr. Trump’s strengths heading into November. Despite trailing Mr. Biden overall in national polls, the president gets higher marks on the economy.
President Trump and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, far right, performing a naturalization ceremony at the White House that aired Tuesday during the Republican National Convention.
Photo: Republican National ConventionThe Biden campaign in a statement said, “Like his many failures throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Republicans and the Trump campaign are trying to use their convention to create an alternate reality and distract from the crisis they created.”
Mr. Trump made his first appearance early in the program. In a video, he said he was issuing a pardon for one convention speaker, Jon Ponder, who was convicted of bank robbery and became an advocate for felon rehabilitation. Mr. Ponder appeared with the former FBI agent who arrested him in a showcase of Mr. Trump’s work on criminal-justice reform. “My greatest failure led to my greatest success,” Mr. Ponder said.
Just after 10 p.m., Mr. Trump appeared again from the White House for a naturalization ceremony featuring five new American citizens. Democrats and other administration critics decried the move, saying that he was politicizing a government function and that his policies during the pandemic have shut down most legal immigration avenues. A White House spokesman dismissed the idea that there was anything inappropriate about the ceremony.
“He doesn’t respect any boundaries,” said Richard Painter, an ethics attorney during the George W. Bush administration. “It’s absolutely outrageous.”
A White House official said that because the ceremony was a White House event that was public—which was filmed and later showed during the convention—there was no violation of law.
Two of Mr. Trump’s children gave some of the most charged speeches, lashing out at the news media and political opponents. Tiffany Trump said the contest is a “fight for freedom versus oppression.” Eric Trump said, “The Democrats want to defund, destroy and disrespect our law enforcement.” Mr. Biden has said he doesn’t support a push by some activists to defund police departments.
Tiffany Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump, speaking during the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.
Photo: chip somodevilla/poolThe second day of the convention also featured people the campaign picked to highlight Mr. Trump’s policies.
“I have to confess: I didn’t support Trump in 2016,” said Jason Joyce, a Maine lobsterman. “Skeptical that he shared my conservative views, I expected him to flip-flop on his campaign promises. But he has followed through on his promises.” He mentioned a new deal to lift European Union tariffs on lobster and Mr. Trump’s move to open up commercial fishing areas off the cost of New England that were closed under President Obama.
Cultural issues also gained the spotlight with a speech from a student whose encounter with a Native American activist at the Lincoln Memorial last year became a viral moment and led to settlements with CNN and the Washington Post.
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“I learned that what was happening to me had a name. It was called being canceled,” said Nicholas Sandmann of Kentucky. “Canceled is what’s happening to people around this country who refuse to be silenced by the far left. Many are being fired, humiliated or even threatened. Often the media is a willing participant. But I wouldn’t be canceled.”
Mary Ann Mendoza, whose son was killed by a drunken driver in the country illegally, planned to speak but was pulled from the program Tuesday after she encouraged her Twitter followers to read a thread that included anti-Semitic ideas. She apologized, saying she shared it “without reading every post within the thread.”
A Democrat also got a featured spot. Mayor Robert Vlaisavljevich of Eveleth, Minn., blasted environmental policies by Mr. Biden and his allies. “My father and grandfather earned their livings mining the raw materials that made the steel that built America,” he said. “This election is make or break for workers who are carrying on the legacy of men like them.”
Trump campaign officials had promised an upbeat and inspiring national convention. The event’s first night on Monday, however, featured stark warnings about the lawlessness and chaos Trump supporters said would ensue if Mr. Biden won the November election. Mr. Trump used his remarks in Charlotte to warn that the push for mail-in voting amounted to a historic scam.
Mrs. Trump’s speech was a return to the convention stage for the first lady and a chance for a redo. In 2016, her speech drew accusations of plagiarism over similarities to words by Michelle Obama.
Mrs. Trump has kept a lower profile than some of her predecessors, but she has put energy into an antibullying effort and helped shape Mr. Trump’s opposition to e-cigarette use by youths. She just oversaw a redesign of the Rose Garden, where she spoke Tuesday before a live audience. The campaign had discussed giving her more of a role, including heading fundraisers, though those have been curtailed due to the pandemic.
Mrs. Trump has generally been well-liked during her husband’s first term. More Americans said they held a positive view of her than a negative view, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll in February 2019. In a December 2019 Gallup poll, she was the second-most admired woman in the United States, ranking higher than Oprah Winfrey and behind Michelle Obama.
First lady Melania Trump speaking on the second night of the Republican National Convention on Tuesday from the Rose Garden of the White House.
Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesPlans for Mr. Pompeo’s appearance Tuesday led to questions from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, whose chairman, Rep. Eliot Engel (D., N.Y.), pointed to State Department documents he said clearly show a violation of legal restrictions interpreted by department lawyers and reiterated by Mr. Pompeo in a July memo to employees. A subcommittee chairman said he was launching an investigation.
Mr. Painter, the former Bush administration lawyer, said Mr. Pompeo’s actions were inappropriate. “He’s on a diplomatic mission and it’s official United States business,” he said. “He should not be using that for a campaign pitch.”
Neither the State Department nor the Trump campaign responded to requests for comment.
Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s first Black attorney general and a protégé of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), also addressed the convention. Mr. Cameron is widely seen as a potential successor when Mr. McConnell leaves the Senate. Mr. McConnell told the Journal earlier this year that his relationship with Mr. Cameron had “opened my eyes that there’s nothing that stipulates that African-Americans have to be liberals.”
Appearing shortly before Mrs. Trump, he gave an optimistic speech about the country while attacking Mr. Biden. “Mr. Vice President, look at me, I am Black,” he said. “We are not all the same, sir. I am not in chains. My mind is my own. And you can’t tell me how to vote because of the color of my skin.”
—Rebecca Ballhaus and Michael C. Bender contributed to this article.
Write to Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com
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