More than a year and a half after becoming First Lady, Melania Trump sat down for her first interview. The interview, filmed during Trump’s solo trip to Africa, with ABC News will air during a 20/20 special next week.
During Trump’s first international solo trip since President Donald Trump took office, Trump is visiting four nations in Africa. Her mission is to highlight her “Be Best” initiative and the positive impact U.S. aid has had on the continent, reports ABC News.
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Trump has already met with mothers and children in a hospital, met school children in Malawi and visited Cape Coast Castle, where many kidnapped Africans were put on ships and sent to the Americas as slaves. She also went to Ghana’s Obama Hall, named after President Barack Obama after his visit to Africa in 2009.
“Thank you for having me here, and thank you for a beautiful warm welcome,” Melania Trump said in Malawi, where she delivered 1.4 million books to schoolchildren. “I wanted to be here to see the successful programs that the United States is providing to the children. And thank you for educating them to ‘Be Best’ — be their best and to grow up into educated adults for generations to come.”
While in Ghana, Trump met with her counterpart, Rebecca Akufo-Addo. The two exchanged gifts, with Trump receiving a Kente cloth and other artifacts. Trump presented Akufo-Addo with a silver tray with the White House image embossed on it and a leather case signed by Trump.
Trump’s good-will tour was not completely without controversy. It comes after January reports that her husband complained about immigrants coming to the U.S. from “s–hole” countries, a phrase President Trump denied making.
According to the Associated Press, someone held up a sign reading “Welcome to Malawi. #NOTAS—HOLE!” when she arrived in Melawi. The trip is also designed to promote international assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), but President Trump has proposed cutting its budget by 30 percent the past two years.
Trump was also criticized for wearing a pith helmet during a Kenyan safari. The hat was worn by 19th century explorers and has become a symbol of colonialism.
President Trump himself has no plans to visit Africa, but praised Trump’s performance overseas.
“She’s doing a great job as first lady, I will tell you — really great,” President Trump said Tuesday. “And you think that’s an easy job? That’s not an easy job. That’s a tough job. She’s fantastic.”
Trump’s interview with ABC World News Tonight Weekend Anchor and Chief National Affairs Correspondent Tom Llamas will air during a one-hour 20/20 special titled Being Melania: The First Lady on Friday, Oct. 12 at 10 p.m. ET.
Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
