Will Trump snub Melania at State of the Union? President has repeatedly ignored wife's work in big speech – The Independent, Independent
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When Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union addresses, they typically include a few boastful half-truths , an array of promises for what the future of the country holds, and the usual smattering of political campaigning.
What they have lacked so far, however, is any reference to First Lady Melania’s work as an anti-bullying advocate.
In May , Mrs Trump launched her initiative Be Best , a public awareness campaign focused on well-being for youth, and advocating against cyber-bullying and drug use.
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“I feel strongly that as adults, we can and should be best at educating our children about the importance of a healthy and balanced life,” the first lady said of the campaign, which she unveiled 27 months into her husband’s presidency.
A year later, Mrs Trump expanded the initiative, which she promoted during visits to states and nine countries, to focus on drug abuse in children of all ages – not just those born dependent on opioids and other addictive substances.
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However, the president has yet to acknowledge the work of his wife in any of his state of the union speeches to Congress, despite touching on the opioid epidemic in his address.
The omission is glaring when considering the State of the Union addresses of past presidents during their respective first, and subsequent, years in office.
In 2010, during what was referred to as President Clinton’s “Address to a Joint Session of Congress,” the then-president discussed the importance of health-care reform and his beliefs that his wife would be successful as chair of the National Commission on Health Care Reform.
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