Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s James Hohmann.
During her speech at the antibullying event, she warned that sites like Facebook and Twitter “can be used in many positive ways but can also be destructive and harmful when used incorrectly.”
“In today’s global society, social media is an inevitable part of our children’s daily lives,” the first lady said. “It can be used in many positive ways but can also be destructive and harmful when used incorrectly. … Let’s face it: Most children are more aware of the benefits and pitfalls of social media than some adults, but we still need to do all we can to provide them with information and tools for successful and safe online habits.”
Meanwhile, Trump tweeted that former CIA director John Brennan was a “hack”; called Robert Mueller III “disgraced and discredited”; and labeled the federal prosecutors who work for the special counsel “Angry Democrat Thugs.”
Later in the day, the East Wing distributed a statement that detailed Melania’s upcoming travel plans. “This will be my first time traveling to Africa and I am excited to educate myself on the issues facing children throughout the continent, while also learning about its rich culture and history,” the statement read. “We are a global society, and I believe it is through open dialogue and the exchanging of ideas that we have a real opportunity to learn from one another.”
In January, Trump reportedly described African nations as “shithole countries” while telling members of Congress that he wanted to restrict immigration from the continent. The president denied it, even though multiple people in the room confirmed the comments. Trump also spent years falsely peddling the conspiracy theory that former president Barack Obama, a native of Hawaii, was born in Kenya. In 2011, she defended her husband’s birtherism.
This dissonance would have been inconceivable in recent White Houses. “It was as though Nancy Reagan had given a ‘Just Say No’ speech while her husband honored the occasion back at the White House by snorting cocaine during a live news conference,” columnist Dana Milbank wrote from the Rockville event. “Summit participants avoided mention of the cyberbully in chief — the equivalent of having a summit on election hacking with no mention of Russia.”
The film producer Adam Best likened Melania Trump’s comments to someone saying, “My husband is an arsonist who keeps burning down everything in sight, but we really need to set a better example so kids stop playing with fire.”
“It would be like a hot dog salesman’s wife starting a national campaign aimed at highlighting all the gross stuff they put in hot dogs,” added CNN’s Chris Cillizza.
Melania Trump’s spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, replied:
It’s a sincere campaign meant to help children w the many issues they face today. https://t.co/OoQ4z8HJ4C
— Stephanie Grisham (@StephGrisham45) August 20, 2018
In a separate statement, Grisham added: “She is aware of the criticism but it will not deter her from doing what she feels is right. The President is proud of her commitment to children and encourages her in all that she does.”
Monday’s events are just the latest example that the first lady has no qualms about setting herself apart from the traditional role of first lady:
• Two weeks ago, the first lady issued a statement praising LeBron James after the president attacked the basketball star’s intellect.
• In June, during the family separation crisis created by her husband, the first lady visited a facility near the Mexican border where kids who had been taken from their parents were being held. She wore a jacket that said, “I really don’t care, do u?”
• Her parents became U.S. citizens this month by taking advantage of a family reunification policy that Trump derisively calls “chain migration” and is trying to stop other families from using.
• “One person who has spent a considerable amount of time around her said Melania Trump was far more relaxed outside the presence of her husband than when he was around,” Katie Rogers, Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Maggie Haberman reported in Sunday’s Times. “She maintains a separate bedroom from her husband, and when the two travel, they stay in separate hotel suites.”
Taken together, Melania Trump is poised to become perhaps the most iconoclastic first lady since at least Betty Ford. In 1975, Gerald Ford’s wife lobbied for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the consternation of the White House political team. “Being ladylike does not require silence,” she said during a speech in Cleveland.
But other first ladies have gotten burned when they staked out positions that put them at odds with their husbands. “In 1971, Richard Nixon had two Supreme Court vacancies to fill,” Jill Hummer recalled recently. “Pat Nixon wanted him to nominate a woman, and she went public about it. ‘Don’t you worry; I’m talking it up. … If we can’t get a woman on the Supreme Court this time, there’ll be a next time,’ she told reporters. Ultimately, Richard Nixon nominated Lewis Powell and William Rehnquist. Pat Nixon was upset and embarrassed that her advice, which she had boldly proffered publicly, had gone unheeded.”
The timing of the Africa trip suggests that Mrs. Trump does not plan to be a surrogate for Republican candidates on the campaign trail during the run-up to the midterms. The East Wing isn’t saying yet exactly where or when in October she’s going, but it seems clear that she’d rather be overseas than on the stump promoting her husband’s policies.
