On Wednesday, First Lady Melania Trump and Second Lady Usha Vance joined forces to celebrate military members and engage with children in anticipation of Thanksgiving.
The pair made a special trip to Camp Lejeune and the Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina. There, they dedicated time to interacting with students from military families and expressed their gratitude to the troops for their dedication and service.
During their visit, the First Lady and Second Lady spent more than an hour at DeLalio Elementary School. They visited multiple classrooms, engaging with the children through various activities.
They joined in games with the students, shared laughs over the trending ’67’ meme circulating in schools, and offered assistance with art projects, creating a memorable and interactive experience for the children.
Melania Trump began her visit by spending time with a young girl who was absorbed in cutting paper. Introducing herself, the First Lady kindly offered her help with the scissors and complimented the girl’s ‘beautiful’ pigtails.
She then moved to a group of young boys, observing their creative art projects. Demonstrating her playful side, Melania picked up a foam dice from their game and rolled it before joining a solitary boy coloring a picture of a turkey, further enhancing her connection with the children.
She returned to the table where the girl was cutting paper and spoke to her as she was pasting paper squares on a yellow background.
‘Goodbye everybody, Happy Thanksgiving!’ she said as she moved to the next classroom.
U.S. first lady Melania Trump and second lady Usha Vance visit an elementary school
Melania played games with the students during her visit
First lady Melania Trump meets with students at DeLalio Elementary School on the Marine Corps Air Station New River
First lady Melania Trump hugs a student during a visit to DeLalio Elementary School
In the second classroom she visited, a small boy approached and admitted her was shy, but Melania won him over and offered him a hug, which he accepted.
Another little girl was excited to show the First Lady a picture of her cat, while another gave her a lesson on snakes.
‘Snakes can be dangerous,’ she told the little girl while crouched down to speak with her.
Two children spotted a ladybug on the floor and picked it up to show it to their teacher, who said it must mean they were going to get ‘good luck.’
She and the Second Lady moved to a third classroom where one girl read her something off of her paper and a young boy was furiously trying to erase something he had colored.
The First Lady moved to another table where students were playing a game where they put a card with a word into a plastic headband and put it on their head.
She put the headband on her head with the word ‘sled’ in it. They then wrote down the word on each others head on a piece of paper. She then put a card that read ‘plum’ on it and also one that read ‘slid.’
First lady Melania Trump prepares to board a plane during her trip to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
U.S. first lady Melania Trump plays with students during her and second lady Usha Vance’s visit
First lady Melania Trump speaks to students during a visit to DeLalio Elementary School
She smiled and told the students it was a ‘fun game.’
At another table two students told the Second Lady Usha Vance their ages.
‘I’m six,’ said one student. ‘I’m seven,’ said another student, prompting other students to call out the infamous 67 trend sweeping the nation.
‘Oh my gosh, Don’t say that!’ one teacher protested.
The Second Lady laughed in response and said the schoolchildren trend ‘hadn’t hit my household yet’ and only learned about it from other people.
‘I’m not on my guard,’ she said smiling.
Students wearing a red, white, and blue ribbon have a service member in their family actively deployed overseas
Second lady Usha Vance interacts with children during her and U.S. first lady Melania Trump’s visit
Trump and Vance also visited a High School classroom on the base, and students showed them how they were using Artificial Intelligence in the classroom as part of the first lady’s initiative to promote children learning about best practises in using the technology.
They later appeared in a high school gym where students and USO volunteers had assembled 2,000 care packages to send to military service members overseas.
The assembled crowd cheered when they entered the room as Melania thanked them for their efforts and wished them a happy Thanksgiving.
