First lady seeks online positivity

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Melania Trump talked up the importance of teaching children positive cyber habits Monday on the same morning that her husband sent tweets deriding current and former U.S. officials, including one message referring to a former CIA director, John Brennan, as a “political hack.”

Asked about the contradictory messages, the first lady’s office said in a statement that 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.”

Mrs. Trump delivered brief remarks to help open a government-sponsored summit called Federal Partners on Bullying Prevention, encouraging social media and technology companies to provide more opportunities for young people to share ideas for how to be good citizens online.

But the split screen of the first lady encouraging children to act a certain way when they see President Donald Trump behaving in the opposite way underscored the challenge Mrs. Trump faces with her “Be Best” campaign. A key focus is on youth cyberbullying.

Mrs. Trump spoke highly of a group of students she recently met who participate in Microsoft’s Council for Digital Good. The students provide the computer software maker with ideas and feedback for Microsoft’s policy work on youth-centered online safety.

At one point, she told the summit: “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.”

After speaking, Mrs. Trump took a seat in the front row and listened as a panel featuring representatives from Facebook, Google, Twitter and the nonprofit Family Online Safety Institute talked about how they’re responding to the issue.

Mrs. Trump later revealed that she is planning her first big solo international swing with a trip through several African countries in October.

The first lady said she’s looking forward to learning about the issues that children living on the continent face, as well as appreciating Africa’s history and culture. She plans to travel without the president, who was criticized this year after his private comment about “shithole countries” in Africa was leaked to journalists.

Exact dates for Mrs. Trump’s trip and which countries she will visit remain to be announced.