First Lady Melania Trump spent Thursday visiting some of the sickest children in the nation’s capital, joining them in arts and crafts activities ahead of their hospital’s Fourth of July celebration.
She met with patients and caregivers at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., holding the hands of young patients as they led her through the treatment areas and a “healing garden” she dedicated during her husband’s first term, reports said.
An impromptu arts and crafts session was taken over by Melania, who painted a red heart on a rock as several children played with stretchy slime nearby.
“Wow, that’s a big slime!” she said while watching the kids stretch the gooey substance.
Handouts featuring the first lady’s “Be Best” initiative were distributed, including gift bags containing blankets, teddy bears, and t-shirts.
Between activities, Melania asked the children about their favorite sports—one answered football, another soccer, and a third mentioned golf.
She inquired about the group’s favorite songs before conducting an informal poll on their preferred desserts. When chocolate and ice cream were mentioned, hands shot up eagerly across the room. “I like it too,” she said, according to the AP.
WATCH:
Aides confirmed that Melania met privately with heart and kidney patients and their families during her visit, The Hill added.
The first lady and President Trump are set to attend a military family picnic at the White House and watch Independence Day fireworks before departing for the president’s New Jersey residence for the weekend.
While Melania has made fewer public appearances during the second Trump administration, she has done so on her own terms—such as arriving at pre-inaugural ceremonies wearing an elegant ensemble by designer Adam Lippes.
In March, she reengaged with policy by publicly supporting legislation aimed at banning revenge porn and deepfake AI imagery.
“I’m here with you today with a common goal, to protect our youth from online harm,” she said during a press conference advocating for the “Take It Down Act,” which was signed into law by her husband earlier this year.
“The widespread presence of abusive behavior in the digital domain affects the daily lives of our children, families, and communities. Addressing this issue is essential for fostering a safe and supportive environment for our young people,” she added.
Since returning to Washington with her presidential husband, Melania has become the target of political attacks and security issues. In April, her office announced that the White House rescheduled the spring garden tours by one day due to planned protests on the National Mall.
“This decision has been made out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the safety of all within proximity to public demonstrations planned near the White House,” said the announcement.
In March, Democrats took heat for launching xenophobic attacks on both Melania and Musk.
On March 22, at an anti-DOGE protest in Los Angeles, Democrat California Rep. Maxine Waters made horrific comments about the first lady, insinuating that she was not a legal citizen.
“When he [Trump] talks about birthright, and he’s going to undo the fact that the Constitution allows those who are born here, even if the parents are undocumented, they have a right to stay in America. If he wants to start looking so closely to find those who were born here and their parents were undocumented, maybe he ought to first look at Melania,” she said, even though Melania came to the United States as an adult and was not “born here.”
“We don’t know whether or not her parents were documented. And maybe we better just take a look,” she said, overlooking the fact that Melania became a U.S. citizen in 2006.