Melania Trump Wants To Expand Her Platform Beyond Cyberbullying As Rumors Of Divorce Intensify
Melania Trump wants to expand the scope of her activist work beyond cyberbullying. That’s according to her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, who spoke to Slate about the first lady’s public platform.
“We really want people to stay away from saying it’s a cyberbullying campaign,” she said.
Grisham added that the first lady never officially declared her platform even though her husband’s administration is over a year old. Melania’s spokeswoman said that the FLOTUS’ focus will be on a wide range of issues that revolve around children, or “everything they’re facing as a group.” One of the issues within that broad umbrella of topics will be “online behavior,” Grisham said.
Melania and her team’s attempt to distance her platform from cyberbullying may have a lot to do with her husband. Many people consider President Donald Trump to be one of the world’s most prominent Twitter trolls. As the Hollywood Reporter notes, when he was a private citizen, he used the platform to malign several individuals such as Cher, Bette Midler, NBC anchor Brian Williams, Michelle Malkin, and President Barack Obama among others. His use of Twitter to speak out against people he doesn’t agree with didn’t stop when he became president. Since his election, Trump has had Twitter “beefs” with Jay Z over black unemployment rates and Snoop Dogg over a music video.
Enjoyed my visit to @StMarysMC today. So great to spend time with some of their brave patients and hard working doctors and nurses. pic.twitter.com/pm4UgMe0Gr
— Melania Trump 45 Archived (@FLOTUS45) March 29, 2018
He has also used the platform to criticize what he calls the “fake news” media, and he’s also, most recently, gone after Amazon and its CEO, Jeff Bezos.
So, as Slate reports, when Melania Trump announced a couple of days before the elections that “one of the main focuses of her work” would be cyberbullying, many people were surprised to say the least.
After she moved into the White House, it seemed that she was going to avoid talking about the topic. But recently she’s been addressing it in public appearances. In February of this year, she hosted a luncheon for governors’ spouses at The White House. During her remarks, Melania Trump explicitly advocated “encouraging positive habits” on social media.
And Melania has addressed the public’s doubts about her credibility in regard to discussions about cyberbullying.
Last week, she brought together executives from tech giants including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Snapchat, and Twitter.
“I’m well aware that people are skeptical of me discussing this topic,” she said. “But it will not stop me from doing what I know is right.”
Melania and her team’s attempts to define or rebrand her platform come as rumors swirl about the state of her marriage to Donald Trump. As the Inquisitr has previously reported, there’s speculation that Mrs. Trump will be filing for divorce due to adult film actress Stormy Daniels’ claims that she had an affair with the former The Celebrity Apprentice host. The affair allegedly took place while Melania was pregnant with Trump’s fifth son, Baron.
Mrs. Trump is reportedly furious with the president over the media attention surrounding the story. But only time will tell whether the purported anger will lead to divorce.
