Melania Trump arrived in West Virginia Monday to highlight the opioid crisis in that state, which has the highest level of drug overdose deaths in the nation.
‘I am here to give you my support,’ she told officials.
The first lady was in the state to hear from local, state and community officials about their work combatting opioid addiction and she also met with a small group of women to hear their personal stories of how the opioid crisis affected them.
Melania Trump met Megan Pawley and her five-month old son Huck
She heard Megan’s story of struggling with addiction
Huck grins at the first lady; his mom Megan shared her story of addiction recovery with Melania Trump
Huck wore an ‘amazing like the USA’ bib
And that moment led to a cute interaction between Melania Trump and a little baby when she met Megan Pawley, a mother in recovery, and her baby Huck.
‘How old is he?’ she asked of five-month-old Huck, giving him a pat and tug on his foot.
Huck grinned at the first lady in return.
‘Tell me the story. I hear you are doing very well. Having a little baby at home is sometimes very stressful and has a lot of challenges,’ Melania Trump said to Pawley.
‘If it wasn’t for Lily’s Place I wouldn’t be where I am,’ Pawley said. ‘I don’t know if it wasn’t for them if I would have been able to keep my son.’
The first lady visited Lily’s Place, which offers care for babies who are born addicted to drugs, in October 2017.
Rebecca Crowder, the executive director of Lily’s Place, was there to update the first lady on the improvements made since her last visit, including expanded services and a new building.
‘Oh fantastic. That is great news,’ Melania Trump said.
Melania Trump arrived in West Virginia for a roundtable on the opioid crisis
First lady Melania Trump, center, accompanied by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, left, and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, right, arrives at a roundtable at Cabell-Huntington Health Center
Melania Trump told the group she was there to give them her support
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, Rep. Carol Miller and Gov. Jim Justice joined the first lady at the Cabell-Huntington Health Center to talk about the crisis in the state.
Melania Trump thanked the officials for their work.
‘The opioid crisis is a critical issue that has impacted many in our country. I want to thank you all for the work you doing. Our administration continues to work hard to fight against opioid addiction,’ she said.
‘My initiative Be Best is focused on providing information to families so we can be a safer and healthier place for our families,’ she added.
In the discussion, the first lady heard about community efforts to help fight the opioid crisis; the response efforts from police and first responders; how children are handling the crisis, and the challenges about finding enough room in treatment centers.
The first lady also heard from law enforcement about their efforts to combat drug trafficking.
‘Unbelievable,’ Melania Trump said when she saw a photo from a body scanner of a person who hid drugs in their body.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice praised her work on the opioid addiction issue.
‘You just can’t phantom you’re coming and what that has meant. You have truly staves lives. I would ask you to go back and, in a quiet time with your husband, and tell him how thankful we are and the difference you are making,’ he told the first lady.
‘I see here the example of what can be done around the country,’ Melania Trump said of their work.
She concluded her visit with a stop at Ritter Park, where a portion of the area has been covered in 453 American flags symbolizing the number of children in Huntington who need a foster family as a result of the opioid epidemic.
The flags are on poles and planted in the ground next to one another in a large display. Each flag stands about six feet high.
Melania Trump took a moment to walk alone among them.
The trip is her first ‘Be Best’ program travel since she celebrated her initiative’s first anniversary in May.
‘This is something that affects us all. It doesn’t have any political agenda,’ Manchin said of the opioid crisis.
Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, tweeted the only news about the trip on Monday morning from her non-West-Wing account. Grisham was Melania’s press secretary before moving to the other side of the building.
‘HAPPENING NOW: @flotus is wheels up & on her way to West Virginia to participate in mtgs w state & local leaders and learn more about community efforts to combat the opioid epidemic,’ Grisham tweeted.
First lady Melania Trump boarded a plane at Joint Base Andrews on Monday for West Virginia, where she planned to get an update on the opioid crisis
As a downpour soaked metropolitan Washington, Melania headed out for her first ‘Be Best’ promotion trip since May
The first lady took a small press contingent with her for what her spokeswoman described as meetings with state and local officials about the opioid addiction epidemic
Separately, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan traveled to Huntington, West Virginia for meetings about DHS’s role in stopping illicit drugs from reaching the U.S.
Combating the opioid addiction crisis is the one of the three pillars of Be Best, which also focuses on the well-being and online safety of children.
Melania Trump announced an expansion of the initiative last month that includes 22 ambassadors from various government agencies taking part in her anti-bully and anti-drug program.
In June she joined President Trump and members of his Cabinet to give an update on the administration’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis.
‘I always say love yourself more than you love drugs,’ she advised.
She also talked about ‘working with the families and our youth to defeat the stigma and talk about the opioid addiction problem and it’s very important to open up and ask for help.’
The first lady listens as Sen. Joe Manchin addresses the roundtable; Gov. Jim Justice sits between them
Melania Trump headed to West Virginia to highlight the opioid crisis in that state
She promised to ‘continue to bring awareness to how dangerous drugs are.’
President Trump praised her work on the opioid addiction issue.
‘I really think that we owe a lot to the first lady,’ he said.
And it’s her first solo trip since she told the president’s 2020 campaign kickoff rally that she’s excited about serving six more years in the White House.
‘It has been my honor to serve as first lady of this incredible country for the past two years. And I’m excited to do it for six more,’ she told a crowd in Florida in early June as she helped President Trump formally launch his re-election bid.
‘I’m proud of all that my husband, this administration and our entire family have done on behalf of the American people in such a short time,’ she said.
This is the first lady’s second trip to West Virginia.
She visited Lily’s Place, an infant recovery center that helps families dealing with addiction, in Huntington in October 2017.
West Virginia has the highest rates of death due to drug overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Melania Trump joined her husband for the Fourth of July ‘Salute to America’
First lady Melania Trump addressed an opioid briefing at the White House last month where she advised to love yourself more than you love drugs
Melania Trump celebrated Be Best’s one-year anniversary in June
In 2017, there were 833 drug overdose deaths involving opioids in West Virginia – a rate of 49.6 deaths per 100,000 persons, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This is the double the rate in 2010 and three times higher than the national rate of 14.6 deaths per 100,000 persons.
Her trip comes after the first lady spent the weekend in Bedminsiter, New Jersey, with the president after the first couple celebrated the Fourth of July holiday on the National Mall as part of President Trump’s Salute to America.
She’s also joined the president on two state visits last month – to Japan and the United Kingdom.