First Lady Melania Trump’s plus-one for the Fostering the Future Together Summit at the White House was a humanoid robot named Figure 3. As videos of FLOTUS’ red-carpet walk began circulating online, body language experts and lip readers began decoding her mannerisms at the event.
A little refresher from the event. Sharing a video from the event across all her social media handles, Melania Trump wrote, “Fostering the Future together. Our world is transforming, and through the use of AI, we can now access centuries’ worth of humanity’s knowledge base.”
FOSTERING THE FUTURE TOGETHER
Our world is transforming, and through the use of AI, we can now access centuries worth of humanity’s knowledge base.
|| 45 Nations || 1 Humanoid
|| The White House || 2026 Inaugural Global Summit pic.twitter.com/33O4QSEHuL
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) March 26, 2026
Meanwhile, body language expert Darren Stanton analyzed Melania Trump’s red carpet walk at the Summit and told The Irish Star, “Melania does look awkward, as she is walking towards the camera, she shows contempt with a one-sided smile. In this context, it’s like she is internally saying, ‘C’mon get on with it.'”
Decoding what Melania’s smile could have implied, the expert added, “The smile that she gave is a masking smile; it isn’t genuine happiness, but when she reaches real people, she does show a genuine smile.”
The expert further alleged, “She looks like she is asking herself why she is there; she is almost asking, ‘Are these the things I have to do for my husband?’ “I wouldn’t say this is something she has opted to do herself; I imagine this is something tied into the role she has.”
Turns out, Stanton wasn’t the only expert who flagged Melania Trump’s walk at the event, calling it ‘awkward.’ Judi James, another body language expert, had this to say about the First Lady’s walk next to the robot. “Melania appears relatively comfortable here right up to the point where she catches up with the robot, and the pair walk side by side.”
James added, “There is a moment or two when it’s the human mirroring the robot rather than the other way round, and this is the point where Melania, understandably, look slightly unsure.”
In addition to body language experts, professional lip readers also shared their inputs on Melania’s interaction with France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron at the same event. The Mirror US quoted lip-reading expert Nicola Hikling as saying, “It’s evil; wow, that’s a different class, isn’t it?”
The AI Robotics company Figure also shared a video from Melania’s walk with the robot and captioned it, “Honoured to be invited to the White House by the First Lady Melania Trump.”
Honored to be invited to the White House by the First Lady Melania Trump pic.twitter.com/E8J74hOciq
— Figure (@Figure_robot) March 25, 2026
The first leg of the Fostering the Future summit began at the White House on Tuesday. Melania Trump, in her almost 7-minute-long speech, addressed the First Ladies of several countries, among them were the first ladies of Ukraine and Israel, Olena Zelenksa and Sara Netanyahu, respectively.
The First Lady’s welcome note to the guests drew a lot of attention, especially for the choice of words. “This room is filled with human capital,” Melania Trump began her speech with these words.
On the second day, Melania Trump emphasized on the use of AI in the education sector. “This technology may reset the modern world order and rebalance power. Your children must be prepared to ascend within this framework. Our coalition can make this vision real by supporting concrete initiatives that equip young people with the skills they need – invest, expand access, and foster new opportunity,” Melania said.
