First lady talks about courage at awards
All eyes on her day after ex-playboy model spoke
WASHINGTON — Melania Trump spoke about courage on Friday — what it is and why the world needs it. Her closely watched public appearance came a day after a former Playboy model told the world details of a 10-month affair the model says she had with a married Donald Trump a decade before he was elected president.
If the relationship Karen Mcdougal alleges was on the first lady’s mind, she gave no hint of it.
A standing ovation greeted a smiling Mrs. Trump as she entered a State Department auditorium for an annual awards ceremony honoring non-u.s. women for acts of courage.
She took her seat on stage in a plush chair and listened as State Department official Heather Nauert introduced her as a philanthropist and humanitarian who is focused on the well-being of children and who works tirelessly to raise awareness of the damaging effects of opioid addiction and cyberbullying.
Then it was Mrs. Trump’s turn to speak.
“As we recognize these incredible women, let us think for a moment about what courage truly is,” the first lady said. “Courage is the quality most needed in this world. Yet, it is often the hardest to find. Courage sets apart those who believe in a higher calling and those who act on it.
“It takes courage not only to see wrong, but strive to right it,” she continued.
The first lady said “we can teach young women and girls all over the world what it means to have courage and to be a hero” by publicizing the honorees’ stories.
The Trumps headed to their estate home in Palm Beach, Florida, but arrived separately at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for the Air Force One flight. The first lady was expected to stay in Florida through Easter, per tradition.
Former Playboy model Mcdougal told CNN’S Anderson Cooper during a lengthy interview broadcast Thursday night that the affair with Trump began at a bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2006, while he was married to the future first lady, who had recently given birth to their son, Barron. Mcdougal said she ended the relationship in 2007 out of guilt.
Mcdougal is suing in California seeking to invalidate a confidentiality agreement with a company that owns the supermarket tabloid National Enquirer.
She apologized to the first lady during the broadcast after Cooper asked what she would say to the first lady if Mrs. Trump were watching.
“What can you say except, I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Mcdougal said. “I wouldn’t want it done to me. I’m sorry.”
Mrs. Trump did not address McDougal’s claim in her remarks. Her office declined to comment.