After months of anticipation, first lady Melania Trump announced her formal initiative this afternoon at the White House, with President Donald Trump in attendance.
Her initiative, called “Be Best,” is dedicated to raising awareness of the issues children face in America today. The initiative contains three main focuses: well-being, social media use, and opioid abuse.
“Let us teach children the importance of all aspects of their well-being, which includes social, emotional, and physical health,” the first lady said, speaking in the Rose Garden.
“As a mother and as first lady, it concerns me that in today’s fast-paced and ever-connected world, children can be less prepared to express or manage their emotions and oftentimes turn to forms of destructive or addictive behavior such as bullying, drug addiction, or even suicide,” Melania Trump also said.
Following her remarks, she invited the president to sign a proclamation declaring May 7 “Be Best Day.”
“Your care and compassion for our nation’s children inspires us all,” the president said.
During the 2016 campaign, Melania Trump stated she intended to focus on fighting cyberbullying, but she later expanded her platform to encompass children’s general well-being.
In March, she addressed the backlash she received from critics who argued President Donald Trump can behave like a bully on Twitter.
“I am well aware that people are skeptical of me discussing this topic. I have been criticized for my commitment to tackling this issue, and I know that will continue,” she said at a roundtable with various tech executives.
In early April, the first lady hosted a listening session with a group of tweens to discuss their “trials and triumphs.”
The kids used the listening session to tell the first lady and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos about what they face in their day-to-day lives.
The opioid component of “Be Best” is not unexpected.
In early March, Melania Trump made the opening remarks at the White House Opioids Summit, saying, “Our unified goal is that of helping all who have been affected by drug addiction, and for me that means focusing on babies and young mothers.”
A few weeks later, the first lady introduced the president before his speech on the opioid epidemic and drug dealers in New Hampshire.
“In my role as first lady, much of my focus has been towards understanding the negative effects the opioid epidemic is having on our children,” she said.
In a new CNN poll, the first lady’s favorability is at 57 percent, up 10 points from January.
Her new poll numbers follow several weeks of more visibility than usual for the first lady.
On April 24, she hosted the Trump administration’s first state dinner in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte.
