A recent announcement from First Lady Melania Trump—part of her Be Best online bullying initiative—drew more outrage and backlash than praise. The official White House website issued a statement for the press and public which Trump shared on Twitter.
In her tweet, Flotus Melania Trump stated:
"Looking forward to collaborating with all of our #BeBest Ambassadors. Delighted to be working alongside so many people both inside and outside of government to better the lives of children everywhere!"
A quote included from FLOTUS's statement made clear:
"I am thrilled that we have identified and partnered with so many organizations both inside and outside of government to help promote and expand the three pillars of BE BEST. As we move into the next phase of my initiative, I look forward to the work ahead."
She added:
"There is no greater opportunity than that of helping children reach their fullest potential as they grow up."
With the recent revelations about conditions of migrant children held in government concentration camps due to the Trump administration zero tolerance policy, a Department of Justice official arguing in court that migrant children do not require beds or basic toiletries and the deaths of at least six children in United States government custody, people were not buying Trump's concern for the "lives of children everywhere."
At all.
Some Trump supporters did attempt to promote the new FLOTUS announcement, but got immediate pushback.
People told the FLOTUS what would improve the lives of many children.
Others criticized Melania Trump for being tone-deaf.
A team of lawyers interviewed and reviewed the conditions of children at a concentration camp in El Paso, Texas.
Holly Cooper, co-director of the University of California Davis' Immigration Law Clinic, reported:
"In my 22 years of doing visits with children in detention, I have never heard of this level of inhumanity. Seeing our country at this crucible moment where we have forsaken children and failed to see them as human is hopefully a wake up for this country to move toward change."
Meanwhile, Trump Department of Justice representative Sarah Fabian argued before a panel of stunned federal judges that children do not need blankets, beds, toiletries, sleep or adequate care to be considered "safe and sanitary."
To learn more about the complicated relationships between President Trump and the major women in his life, past and present, the book Golden Handcuffs: The Secret History of Trump's Women, available here, offers some insight.
"Nina Burleigh, explores Donald Trump’s attitudes toward women by providing in-depth analysis and background on the women who have had the most profound influence on his life—the mother and grandmother who raised him, the wives who lived with him, and the daughter who is poised to inherit it all."
