‘I will work alongside you’: Melania Trump begins to embrace new role as first lady

Melania Trump’s invitation for high-powered women to join her at the White House was about more than the lunch they would eat, or the stated purpose of honouring International Women’s Day.

It marked a “coming out” for the first lady, seven weeks into President Donald Trump’s administration. After spending a couple of weeks hunkered down at the family’s midtown Manhattan penthouse while Trump launched his presidency in Washington, the former model who her husband says is a “very private person”, is taking her first steps into her very public new role.

She strode into the State Dining Room for her first solo White House event after an announcer intoned, “Ladies and gentlemen, the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump,” and was greeted by the all-female group of about 50 people, including ambassadors, Cabinet members, at least one US senator and stepdaughter Ivanka Trump.

She asked guests for suggestions on how best to empower women and girls worldwide, possibly foreshadowing women’s empowerment as an issue she would pursue as first lady. The president said recently that his wife, who turns 47 next month, feels strongly about “women’s difficulties”.

“I will work alongside you in ensuring that the gender of one’s birth does not determine one’s treatment in society,” she told guests, according to a tweet by a White House official.

The White House allowed a small pool of journalists to watch as guests and the first lady arrived for Wednesday’s lunch, but they were ushered out as she began to speak. The White House press office promised to distribute text of her prepared remarks after the event, but a transcript has not been released.