Two new women are being used in Trump’s campaign. They have one case to make.

Paul Mescal may still be oiling up for the Gladiator 2 press circuit, but last month's Republican National Convention set the scene for his forthcoming blockbuster perfectly. For four days in July, Donald Trump was the emperor of Milwaukee, presiding over an increasingly garrulous set of performances which ranged from Kid Rock replacing the lyrics in his song American Bad Ass with swing states to wrestler Hulk Hogan ripping off his t-shirt, declaring "Let Trumpamania run wild", and literally crowning the 41st President of the United States — who no one has ever spotted doing anything close to vigorous exercise — a "gladiator".

But amid such sober debates about monetary policy and the future of NATO in a multipolar world, it was women who made the biggest impression. They weren't the loudest in the room; obviously, that honour of course belongs to Hogan, whose real name I recently learned is Terry Bollea. But with both daughter Ivanka and wife Melania Trump foregoing the chance to speak at the event they have both addressed in years prior, it was left to Trump's daughter-in-law and soon-to-be daughter-in-law to make the case for Donald Trump not only as a politician but as a human being. A family man.

Lara Trump, who is married to less-favoured son Eric Trump but who is clearly the more politically ambitious of the two daughters marrying into the clan, must have missed that particular memo. The 20-minute address, which culminated with a raising of her fist as the crowd shouted "fight", echoed Trump's now-iconic stance after the assassination attempt on his life — and also the insurrectionists who attempted to overthrow the 2020 election results on January 6 of 2021.

Watch: Lara Trump speaks at the 2024 Republican National Convention. Post continues after video.

Oh, it turns out Lara thought that was a really nice day! "It's my husband's birthday," she explained to the New York Times when they asked her about the speech she gave the rioters before they broke into the Capitol and tried to hang then-vice president Mike Pence. "It was actually a really lovely experience to be up on that stage, and the positive energy there, I think, was amazing." Now, 750 people are in prison for their actions that day, at least seven people have died in connection with the attack, and Lara is the co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, with former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during the fourth day of the Republican National Convention. Image: Getty.

The fists and the fighting and even Lara's somber sheath dress (black "wasn't the predictable choice", but it was a "telling" one, wrote fashion critic Vanessa Friedman of her outfit) felt an epoch away from the speech Ivanka gave when introducing her father back in 2016. On the stage that July, Ivanka wore what she always used to wear in public appearances, which was pink. Not millennial pink — too trendy — but powdery, pastel pink. The kind of colour that makes you think of Easter and very expensive Angora baby blankets, which is probably not a coincidence because her whole speech was about, wait for it, affordable childcare. "Policies that allow women with children to thrive should not be novelties," Ivanka said. "They should be the norm." Were we ever so young?

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Ivanka stayed away from the festivities this time around, except for an appearance in the imperial box on the last night. So Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is engaged to the Kendall Roy of the Trump family (Don Trump Jr.), took the stage to buttress Lara's argument. Two things to know about Guilfoyle are that, weirdly enough, she was once married to liberal darling and Democratic governor of California Gavin Newsom. The other thing to know is that she, too, had a nice time on Jan. 6, 2021, because she was paid $60,000 for two-and-a-half minutes of rabble-rousing, imploring the crowd via video link to "have the courage to do the right thing! Fight!"

Guilfoyle used to be a Fox News host and retains that network's trademark patina of highly polished, heavily eyelined aggression. Needless to say, there wasn't much in her address about affordable childcare. "We are closer to World War III than any time in my life," Guilfoyle warned. She also promised the deportation of "millions" of "illegal aliens", noted "rioters and looters go free", and observed that "insanity spreads like a cancer in our schools."

Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks on stage on the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention. Image: Getty.

Guilfoyle ended by saying that the Republican vision is "defined by a love of our country, love for our fellow citizens, and our love of freedom," but it didn't really ring true. Still, what was interesting about Guilfoyle and Lara Trump at this convention was that no one could accuse them of staying in the "women's issues" lane. That's not to say their speeches represented any kind of progress on Ivanka's in 2016; affordable childcare is an everyone problem that we need to solve. And women throughout history, including during Roman times, have obviously acted to prop up and at times even perpetuate regimes thought to be corrupt or malign. But they did make a mark on this convention, and, in so doing, challenged certain norms around what supportive women in a political context should look like. I guess all I'm trying to say is, after watching Lara and Kimberly orate in the Milwaukee arena: are you not entertained?

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Feature image: Getty.