Washington, May 7 (EFE).- First lady Melania Trump on Monday unveiled at the White House three initiatives to improve the lives of children focusing on promoting healthy living, the fight against bullying on the social networks and combating opioid abuse.
The “Be Best” campaign is Ms. Trump’s attempt to more fully take on the role that first ladies have traditionally adopted, namely promoting specific social changes – far removed from partisan disputes – that allow the residents of the White House to leave their mark on the country’s history.
“It remains our generation’s moral imperative to take responsibility and help our children manage the many issues they are facing today, including encouraging positive social, emotional and physical habits,” said Ms. Trump in the Rose Garden in announcing the effort.
“By acknowledging there are many important issues, and knowing these problems cannot be solved overnight, I believe we can change the way we think and talk about issues facing children today,” she added.
Among those present in the audience were top officials from several big tech firms, including Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and Snap, as well as civil society groups calling for greater safety for children on the Internet such as the Family Online Safety Institute.
The first lady has been criticized for her intention, which she had announced during the election campaign, to devote herself to combating bullying on the social networks, given that her husband typically shows no hesitation when he takes to Twitter to post cruel jokes or lambaste his enemies.
The main social networks have strict politics prohibiting online bullying or harassment, but in general it is up to users to denounce abuses so that the firms can make a decision on whether or not to censor or expel the perpetrators.
To date, Ms. Trump has been less active as first lady than her predecessors Michelle Obama and Laura Bush, who pushed forward with various causes such as fighting child obesity and promoting reading, respectively.
However, in recent months, she has involved herself more in the policies of her husband and has developed a special interest in the opioid addiction crisis that each day kills around 175 Americans, in particular its impact on the children and infants of addicted mothers.