Playing the queen of hearts, first lady Melania Trump brought special White House Valentines with her as she visited patients at a Cincinnati children’s hospital on Monday.
The first lady was joined by Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and Jane Portman, the wife of Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman and the chairwoman of the facility, for the tour, as hospital administrators talked to Mrs. Trump about how they were treating the youngest victims of the opioid crisis, those born addicted to drugs.
With the visit to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the first lady was combining two of the areas she’s expressed interest in: improving children’s lives and combating the opioid crisis.
First lady Melania Trump (left) plays with a young girl Monday at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
First lady Melania Trump purses her lips during a visit to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center on Monday
Melania Trump (center right) was joined by Jane Portman (right), the wife of Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman and Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway (left). The women were escorted around the facility by Michael Fisher, president of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
First lady Melania Trump (left) and Jane Portman (right), the wife of Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, interact with some of the young patients as they play
Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway (left) and Melania Trump (second from right) interact with kids at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Melania Trump (left) picks up one little patient during her visit to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center as Jane Portman (right) looks on
Melania Trump (right) leans over and speaks to a young patient at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center on Monday
Trump was first briefed on issues like neonatal abstinence syndrome, what the cluster of problems are called when babies are exposed to opioids in the womb.
She was then brought into an activity room where she played with children at the hospital.
The first lady brought the patients gifts of Valentines, complete with an illustration of the White House, and coloring books.
CNN reported that at one point a young girl approached her and asked to be held, and the first lady obliged.
Thanking the hospital after her visit, the first lady said, ‘I am so grateful for your continued research on combating opioid abuse and for all you are doing for your patients.’
‘Children will always be my top priority, and I appreciated the opportunity to visit with the young patients today and witness firsthand their strength and spirit,’ FLOTUS said in a statement.
Melania Trump has visited childrens’ hospitals on two other occasions as first lady – one in Washington, D.C. just before the Christmas holiday and another in Paris, France, during a trip with her husband to France for Bastille Day.
President Trump (left) and first lady Melania Trump (right) put on a united front Monday during their trip to Ohio, as rumors swirled that the first lady is angry at the president over news reports that he cheated on her with a porn star when they were first married
President Trump (left) guides first lady Melania Trump (right) into the White House Monday evening after the couple spent the day in Ohio
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk to Marine One upon prior to departure from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, February 5
She’s also been engaged in curtailing the opioid crisis, hosting a roundtable at the White House on the epidemic in late September and then traveling to a West Virginia treatment center the next month.
The trip also showcased the first lady and the president putting on an overt display of unity and companionship amid chatter about the status of their marriage.
The first lady quietly walked from the White House residence to the Oval Office shortly before the president’s flight was to depart from the South Lawn late morning on Monday.
Then, a few minutes later, the first couple emerged jointly to walk toward Marine One for the short flight to Joint Base Andrews.
When they returned to the White House late Monday afternoon, the president put his hand on the first lady’s back again, entering
Melania sported an attention-grabbing canary yellow full length overcoat as the pair paraded by a bank of reporters and photographers – who have been closely watching the state of the First Family’s marriage since a bombshell report that Trump lawyer Michael Cohen had paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claimed in earlier interviews she had an affair with Trump.
The first lady smiled as the president guided her away from the Oval Office.
As the pair walked toward the presidential helicopter, Trump put his arm around Melania and gently escorted her there. She then boarded ahead of him and he turned and waived to the cameras.
The president didn’t take any of the questions shouted his way, instead opting to smile for the cameras and keep a distance from questioners.
He made a similar display when he disembarked from Marine One after the afternoon trip.
As the president and first lady strolled through the South Lawn, Trump waved several times to the group of reporters waiting for him, but answered no questions about the stock market drop.
He then placed his hand on Melania Trump’s back and guided her into the White House.
‘Very much looking forward to visit @CincyChildrens today & learn more about their efforts in combating the effects opioids are having on our children & how we can continue to work towards ending the #OpioidEpidemic,’ Melania Trump tweeted Monday in anticipation of the trip.
The Trumps returned to Washington together on Sunday evening with their son Barron in tow after a weekend in Palm Beach.
Mrs. Trump has rarely been seen with her husband since allegations surfaced that he had an extramarital affair early on in their marriage with a porn star who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels.
First Lady Melania Trump will accompany her husband to Ohio today in public display of unity intended to quiet chatter about the status of their marriage
First lady Melania Trump tweeted details about her Ohio trip today, explaining that she’ll be focused on the effects opioids are having on children’s lives and what medical professionals are doing to solve those problems
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk from the Oval Office of the White House before their departure to Cincinnati
The pair stopped and smiled for the cameras who were there for the departure, but the president didn’t take questions
The president (left) accompanied first lady Melania Trump (right) to the helicopter waiting for them on the South Lawn, as the duo headed to Ohio Monday
President Donald Trump (right) and first lady Melania Trump (left) embark on Air Force One on their way to Cincinnati at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington on Monday
President Trump gives a wave before he departs for Cincinnati, Ohio on Monday, where he would address workers and talk tax cuts
After keeping a low profile in recent weeks, first lady Melania Trump (right) dressed vibrantly in New England Patriots’ colors Sunday night at a Super Bowl party at her husband’s (left) golf club in West Palm Beach
First Lady Melania Trump (right) has appeared infrequently in public with her husband President Trump (left) since the Wall Street Journal broke a story that said Trump’s lawyer paid off a porn star to keep quiet about an affair
Last night, the president and first lady were seen together at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, for the venue’s annual Super Bowl party
The first lady backed out of her husband’s trip to Davos at the last minute last month and turned heads when she took an unscheduled trip to Palm Beach, costing taxpayers an estimated $70,000.
Her office had told reporters that she couldn’t be in Switzerland because of scheduling and logistics.
Several days later, Melania Trump broke with tradition and went to the U.S. Capitol ahead of her husband when he delivered a closely-scrutinized joint address to Congress, his first State of the Union.
The Trumps rode back to the White House together after the speech, making their first public appearance together since January 15, when they were photographed together making a return trip to D.C. from Mar-a-Lago.
Over the weekend the couple attended a Super Bowl party together at the president’s private golf club.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the Daniels story on January 12, writing that Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, had doled out a $130,000 to keep Daniels quiet in the waning weeks of the 2016 presidential election.
Cohen has denied Trump had a sexual relationship with Daniels, but has not denied making the payment.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, divulged details about her alleged relationship with Trump during a 2011 interview with In Touch Weekly, which never ran until January 17 of this year.
The adult film actress said she and the billionaire businessman first hooked up in 2006, at a Nevada hotel outside of Lake Tahoe, and continued to see each other through 2007.
Before the release of the In Touch Weekly Q&A, several other sources corroborated the details of the story.
Porn star Alana Evans appeared on Megyn Kelly’s portion of the Today show on January 16 and talked about how Daniels called her from Trump’s hotel room, wanting her to come along.
The same day, Slate’s Jacob Weisberg wrote a piece detailing how he had been in touch with Daniels between August and October of 2016.
She detailed her affair with Trump to him, though wanted to be paid for the story, which is something Weisberg’s publication does not do.
She also revealed that, through an intermediary, Trump had offered her money to stay silent.
A pal of Daniels’ later told the Slate writer, after Daniels stopped answering his messages, that she had taken the sum.
Melania Trump and the now-president were married on January 22, 2005, a year and a half before Daniels’ and the president’s first alleged sexual encounter.
Barron Trump was born in March 2006, four months before the now president and Daniels’ first alleged encounter, at a golf outing in July of that year.
The New York Times wrote Tuesday that the first lady was ‘blindsided’ by the initial Wall Street Journal story and ‘furious’ with her husband.