First Lady Melania Trump is making good on a promise she made earlier this year to combat childhood bullying, taking a surprise trip to a middle school in West Bloomfield.
She will give brief remarks to students at Orchard Lake Middle School and then join them for lunch as they participate in a “No One Eats Alone Day” event. The concept was created by Beyond Differences, a national organization that works to combat detrimental school culture and prevent bullying.
Last month during a United Nations speech in New York City, Trump said she intended to use her position as first lady of the United States to help with issues facing children. She included bullying in her list of concerns.
“Together, we must acknowledge that all too often it is the weakest, most innocent and vulnerable among us — our children — who ultimately suffer the most from the challenges that plague our societies,” the first lady had said. “Whether it is drug addiction, bullying, poverty, disease, trafficking, illiteracy or hunger, it is the children who are hit first and hardest in any country. And as we all know, the future of every nation rests with the promise of their young people.”
Betsy Devos, the education secretary, will be with Mrs. Trump at Orchard Lake Middle School.
The first lady perhaps foreshadowed her interest in an anti-bullying platform back in August, when she tweeted her gratitude to Chelsea Clinton for coming to the defense of Trump’s 11-year-old son, Barron.
After the youngest child of the President became the focus of a news story, Clinton tweeted, “It’s high time the media & everyone leave Barron Trump alone & let him have the private childhood he deserves.”
Melania Trump tweeted back, “Thank you @ChelseaClinton – so important to support all of our children in being themselves!