First Lady Melania Trump’s policy agenda: Highlights
From challenges facing children to the opiod epidemic, a look at First Lady Melania Trump’s policy agenda.
True to her own unique style, first lady Melania Trump unveiled her policy platform Monday, which is counter to the traditional single-issue initiatives we’ve become accustomed to seeing first ladies take on.
Instead she chose a broad approach to a campaign that tackles several issues our nation’s children face.
Specifically, the first lady’s Be Best campaign centers on three parts: well-being, social media use and opioid abuse.
In a speech in the Rose Garden announcing the initiative, the first lady said: “Let us teach our children the difference between right and wrong, and encourage them to be best in their individual paths in life.”
The more America sees her, the more we fall in love with her.
“Together, I believe we should strive to provide kids with the tools they need to cultivate their social and emotional health,” Mrs. Trump said. “We can and should teach children the importance of social- and self-awareness, positive relationship skills and responsible decision making.”
The platform of the first lady has evolved over the years to a celebrity status of sorts. She has the opportunity to make it into whatever she wants it to be, and her reach is infinite.
Melania Trump unveils initiative to help children
First lady announces 'Be Best' program focusing on well-being, fighting opioid abuse and positivity on social media.
It appears that Melania Trump knows this, and she’s making the most of the opportunity that’s been given to her. Mrs. Trump’s unconventional approach to her platform veers from the norm and focuses on an all-around healthy and balanced life.
First lady Nancy Reagan had the “Just Say No” campaign. Laura Bush was known for education and literacy programs. And Michelle Obama was known for combatting childhood obesity.
This is a new day. The age of information overload is alive and in full force.
First lady Melania Trump announces the launch of her "Be Best" initiative in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, May 7, 2018. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
Our kids are being inundated with social media that can breed negativity and affect their well- being. The opioid crisis, which President Trump declared a public health emergency last year, saw overdose deaths surge more than 19 percent in 15 to19 year-olds between 2014 and 2015, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control.
President Trump joined Mrs. Trump in the Rose Garden, where he praised the first lady and said the American people have been touched by her grace and sincerity.
One has to look no further than a newly released CNN poll – of all places – for confirmation that the understated Melania Trump, who often avoids the spotlight, has connected with the American people in a big way.
First lady Melania Trump announces the launch of her "Be Best" initiative in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, May 7, 2018. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
According to the poll, Mrs. Trump’s favorability numbers have jumped 10 points to 57 percent since January. This is the highest favorability rating Mrs. Trump has ever received in any CNN poll.
Perhaps one of the reasons Mrs. Trump has been so reluctant to put herself in the spotlight during her first year in the White House is because the media have worked overtime criticizing her – from the size of her heels to her Christmas decorations. The visceral contempt the elite media visit hourly upon the president has repeatedly and childishly spilled over onto his wife.
First lady Melania Trump walks down the White House colonnade as she arrives for the launch of her "Be Best" initiative in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, May 7, 2018. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
That tide seemed to turn following the president’s first state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron. Mrs. Trump’s style, both in her flair for fashion and in the flawless dinner she planned – without the help of an outside event planner – turned heads and got even her toughest critics to take notice.
Mrs. Trump is a private person and more at ease staying in the background. However she seems to be getting more comfortable lately introducing America to who she is, what she believes and how she wants to put her passions into action. The more America sees her, the more we fall in love with her.
And the more effective she will be at giving needed voice to causes that, in their own way, will make America great again.
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