First lady announces solo trip to Africa after cyberbully warning
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Under the banner of her “Be Best” campaign, first lady Melania Trump on Monday told a group of cyberbullying prevention experts that social media “can be destructive and harmful when used incorrectly.”
Later on Monday, Mrs. Trump added to a day of dissonant messaging from the Trump White House when her office announced a solo trip for the first lady this fall to Africa — a continent whose countries and citizens her husband has disparaged with coarse language.
Since arriving in Washington, the first lady has acted independently of her husband on a number of occasions. Mrs. Trump’s office told The Associated Press on Monday that she would visit several countries in Africa in October. She will go without her husband, who has used disparaging language to refer to immigrants from some African countries.
“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 first lady said in a statement.
She added that she plans to use the trip to highlight the humanitarian work and development programs underway in many African countries.
“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,” Mrs. Trump said.
President Donald Trump has not visited Africa since taking office.
Mrs. Trump, whose policy director left the White House a few weeks ago, has kept a light schedule in promoting her child-focused campaign since she launched it in May. Her visit to the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention session, held at the Health Resources and Services Administration in a Washington suburb, was one of the more visible efforts she has made on behalf of the campaign.
“In today’s global society, social media is an inevitable part of our children’s daily lives,” Mrs. Trump said, reading from prepared remarks. “It can be used in many positive ways, but can also be destructive and harmful when used incorrectly.”