Melania Trump Will Uphold One Obama Legacy At The White House


Melania Trump will uphold one Obama legacy at the White House as First Lady, it was revealed over the weekend. Melania joined her husband at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Saturday to share in hosting a visit from Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, Akie Abe.

CNN reports that Melania Trump had her first solo role as First Lady by taking Akie Abe to the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. President Trump was at a Trump golf course in Jupiter with PM Shinzo Abe during the ladies’ outing.

According to the report, Melania Trump intends to maintain the garden that former First Lady Michelle Obama cultivated.

Senior advisor to the First Lady, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, issued a statement regarding Mrs. Trump’s plans.

“The First Lady has a deep personal commitment to her role as caretaker and nurturer, beginning with her family. She believes there is a connection between a child’s mind and places of calm and beauty to be used as a tool for us all. As a mother and as the First Lady of this country, Mrs. Trump is committed to the preservation and continuation of the White House Gardens, specifically the First Lady’s Kitchen Garden and the Rose Garden.”

Melania Trump issued her own statement following the museum visit, sharing her thoughts about the aspect of gardening.

“Both our countries histories and cultures are steeped in the nurture and nature of gardening. Having knowledge of different cultures and customs is a wonderful way to learn and to explore. Gardening teaches us the fundamentals in care and the evolution of living things, all while inspiring us to nurture our minds and to relax and strengthen our bodies. I hope that together Mrs. Abe and I can continue to inspire our youth to enjoy the beauty around them and to restore their minds in the peacefulness of their surroundings.”

Melania Trump, who wore a white Calvin Klein ensemble on the tour, presented Abe with the gift of a porcelain rose called “Rose in Bloom” from Ukrain-American artist, Vladimir Kanevsky.

Melania also hosted a private lunch for Akie Abe on Saturday at Mar-a-Lago.

In 2009, then-First Lady Michelle Obama planted a vegetable garden in the South Lawn of the White House.

It would’ve been difficult for a new president to scrap Mrs. Obama’s garden, given the fact she had cement and stone fixtures built just prior to the 2016 election. If those were to be removed, it would serve as a political statement, a historian told Time magazine. The former First Lady can rest assured now that Melania Trump will continue the legacy she began on the South Lawn.

Melania also posted photos and messages onto her official FLOTUS account on Saturday about the tradition of gardening. She’s seen with Akie Abe as they toured the gardens.

“I take great pride in knowing that this little garden will live on as a symbol of the hopes and dreams we all hold of growing a healthier nation for our children,” Michelle Obama said in a statement in October of last year. “I am hopeful that future first families will cherish this garden like we have.”

The National Park Service has continued in nurturing the vegetable garden. It’s unclear if Melania Trump will actually do any work herself in the garden or if she’ll just oversee the maintenance of it. Some might say it’s hard to envision the glamorous First Lady engaging in any type of activity that involves dirt. Michelle Obama was seen in work clothes partaking in some of the work when official photographs were snapped. Whether the same will be true for First Lady Melania Trump isn’t known, but she’s intent on seeing the garden flourish throughout her husband’s presidency.

[Featured Image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]

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