Melania Trump’s legacy: what did Donald Trump’s wife achieve as US first lady and how will her Be Best campaign be remembered?

Jan 15 , 2021

First Lady Melania Trump’s Be Best children's initiative has had mixed results, but she connected with thousands of children during her time in the White House Photo: AFP

While Donald Trump slammed Greta Thunberg on Twitter, Melania Trump was teaching young people to respect the environment: often at odds with her husband’s agenda, here’s how she pushed ahead with her own

Every first lady in modern times has made it their priority to carve out a niche for themselves; Michelle Obama chose to get young people moving as part of her push for healthy lifestyles, while Jackie O pushed the “just say no” to drugs campaign. Both sought not only to change the mindset of Americans, but to get policies implemented to create the conditions for real change. For Melania Trump, it was her Be Best initiative – which focused on opioid abuse, well-being and the online safety of children – that is likely to be her White House legacy.

While Melania was often unafraid to speak her mind and side against her husband, critics have noted that Be Best has had no overt influence on changing policies. So did Melania achieve what she set out to do?

She met thousands of children

US first lady Melania Trump with Akie Abe, wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at the TeamLab Borderless exhibit at the Mori Museum in Tokyo in 2019. Photo: Reuters

With Melania and her son Barron Trump not moving into the White House until several months after Donald Trump, she got off to a late start. But the first lady finally announced Be Best in the spring of 2018.

Her first and only solo trip abroad was to Africa, but she also mingled with young people on joint visits to the UK, Saudi Arabia and India.

Melania Trump holds a baby during a visit to Accra, Africa, in 2018 to promote her Be Best campaign. Photo: AFP

Melania had met “nearly 4,000 children” by the time the two-year anniversary rolled around, CNN quotes a representative as saying. According to the White House, one of Melania’s highlights has been visiting schools that incorporate character education and social emotional learning into their curriculums. Nevertheless, with the final year of her husband’s time in office coinciding with coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, her social legacy ends there.

She highlighted the work of health professionals

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x