Melania Trump will take questions from college students at opioid epidemic town hall

In a first since becoming first lady, Melania Trump will answer unscripted questions from college students when she visits Liberty University next week to participate in a town hall event about the opioid addiction crisis.

Her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisholm told DailyMail.com that Mrs. Trump will engage in the Q&A when she visits the Christian conservative college campus in Lynchburg, Virginia.

It will be a rare chance to hear from the first lady in an extemporaneous setting. 

Melania’s public speaking is usually prepared and read from teleprompters, and seldom off-the-cuff. She rarely takes questions from the press.

Liberty is billing the Nov. 28 town hall event as part of its convocation series. Conservative commentator and former Fox News host Eric Bolling organized it. Bolling’s son died from an overdose last year.

Melania Trump will field questions from students at Liberty University next week as part of a town hall event on opioid addiction; it’s likely to be a rare opportunity for hear the first lady speak off the cuff

Eric Bolling, a conservative commentator and former Fox News Channel host whose son died last year of a drug overdose, organized the Liberty 'convocation event' and said that the first lady immediately agreed to take part

Eric Bolling, a conservative commentator and former Fox News Channel host whose son died last year of a drug overdose, organized the Liberty ‘convocation event’ and said that the first lady immediately agreed to take part

President Trump delivered a convocation speech at the Vines Center on the Liberty campus in January 2016 while he was running for the White House; his wife will speakk in the same space 

President Trump delivered a convocation speech at the Vines Center on the Liberty campus in January 2016 while he was running for the White House; his wife will speakk in the same space 

‘When my son passed, Donald and Melania called me the very next day. They’re really amazing people and she has a lot of empathy for this cause. A real heart for it. And she’s proving it by coming to Liberty,’ Bolling told DailyMail.com on Wednesday.

He said Mrs. Trump quickly agreed to answering questions in public, saying she was ‘all for it.’

‘I said, “How do you want to handle it? I can do an interview with you”,’ Bolling recalled. 

‘She said she’d like to do prepared remarks. I said, “How would you feel about questions?” She said, “Time permitting, absolutely. I’m all for it”.

Melania Trump played with patients Essence Overton (left), 4 years old, and Natalayah Fields (center), 3 years old, following a roundtable discussion on neonatal abstinence syndrome at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee in July

Melania Trump played with patients Essence Overton (left), 4 years old, and Natalayah Fields (center), 3 years old, following a roundtable discussion on neonatal abstinence syndrome at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee in July

This chart illustrates opiate prescribing trends in the U.S. from 2000-2017, illustrating a sharp increase in the amount of Oxycodone and hydrocodone doled out in the early 2000s, followed by a decline since 2012

This chart illustrates opiate prescribing trends in the U.S. from 2000-2017, illustrating a sharp increase in the amount of Oxycodone and hydrocodone doled out in the early 2000s, followed by a decline since 2012

President Donald Trump signed a bill into law last month that united dozens of proposals sponsored by hundreds of lawmakers, each aimed at supporting programs focused on opioid addiction prevention, treatment and recovery. 

More than 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017.

The first lady spoke during the signing event, saying that her ‘Be Best’ campaign ‘is committed to helping children and the many issues they face as they grow up, and sadly drug abuse is one of those issues.’

Bolling said Wednesday that Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. asked him during an event at the Trump hotel in Washington whether he would be willing to speak to the student body. Mrs. Trump, he said, was eager to help. 

‘I’ve been working with the White House quite a bit on the opioid push. When President Trump did his signing they invited me to that, and I saw that the first lady had made opioids one of the tranches of, I guess you could call it her first lady presidency,’ Bolling told DailyMail.com.

The Liberty University panel will also include Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen (left) and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar (right)

The Liberty University panel will also include Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen (left) and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar (right)

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. engaged Eric Bolling to put together a town hall event, and Bolling quickly secured the first lady's promise to participate

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. engaged Eric Bolling to put together a town hall event, and Bolling quickly secured the first lady’s promise to participate

Author Dianna Hart, formerly known as Dianna De La Garza (left) autographed her first novel to daughter and singer-songwriter Demi Lovato (right) in March 2018; Hart will participate in the Liberty event

Author Dianna Hart, formerly known as Dianna De La Garza (left) autographed her first novel to daughter and singer-songwriter Demi Lovato (right) in March 2018; Hart will participate in the Liberty event

‘I asked if she was interested in doing something like this. I told her that we’re going to save a lot of lives. And she immediately said yes,’ he said.

Others on the panel for the Liberty convocation event include Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and Dianna Hart, the mother of pop singer Demi Lovato, who has struggled with addiction issues.

Lovato was hospitalized in late July following an apparent drug overdose. 

The first lady’s work on opioid addiction issues includes a focus on neonatal abstinence syndrome, which affects bebies born to addicted women. 

She has interacted with young people before, usually involving children in hospital and school settings. 

At one event she hosted grade-school students to help her in the White House garden.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk