First Lady Trump’s Initiative: Be Best

Yesterday, First Lady Melania Trump stepped into the Rose Garden and said she would focus her official effort on teaching children to put kindness first in their lives, particularly on social media.

In a speech delivered in front of the President, Vice President Mike Pence, at least five cabinet secretaries and other senior officials, Mrs. Trump unveiled a program called “Be Best,” which she said would tackle opioid abuse, social media pressures and mental health issues among young people.

“Children deserve every opportunity to enjoy their innocence,” Mrs. Trump said.

Mrs. Trump’s program will primarily focus on an push by the National Safety Council to encourage people to be proactive with talking to their doctors about opioid abuse, and guidelines distributed by the Federal Trade Commission on children’s social media activity.

Mrs. Trump’s staff plans to continue to solicit ideas from places the first lady has visited, including Lilly's Place,  a West Virginia clinic that treats infants born with opioid addiction and a Michigan school where students participate in a program to stress the importance of emotional intelligence and kindness.