First Lady Melania Trump on Wednesday morning embarked upon her first solo trip to Capitol Hill, accompanied by various lawmakers and senior White House officials, to mark the one-year anniversary of a law aimed at addressing the opioid epidemic, writes AP.
According to reporters covering the event, the First Lady seemed determined to dodge questions pertaining to the impeachment inquiry targeting her husband Donald Trump, which POTUS blasted as a “lynching” this week.
As she was departing, Melania Trump was asked by the assembled press how the impeachment inquiry was affecting her and her family, as she has not made a public comment yet.
FLOTUS did not respond to the question.
On 24 September, US House Democrats launched an impeachment probe against Donald Trump over a whistleblower complaint that alleged the US President might have abused his power by pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a 25 July phone call into investigating Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden for corruption.
Trump has denied all allegations of misconduct, releasing a transcript of the call, and lambasting the impeachment probe as another political “witch hunt”.
At the Capitol event Melania Trump emphatically underscoring the importance of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, signed into law by President Trump last October.
“We continue to make great strides in our fight to end this crisis,” she said in the Capitol’s Mansfield Room.
“I have traveled to some of the areas hardest hit by drug abuse and I have seen the devastating effects that this crisis has on families and children. This is why the SUPPORT Act is so important. It provides the necessary tools to fight this crisis,” said Melania Trump.Today starts #RedRibbonWeek. There is no room for illegal drugs in our schools & communities. I encourage youth to take the pledge this week & choose to live #DrugFree. #BeBest pic.twitter.com/JXzCoKbaXL
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) October 23, 2019
Responding to the news, some fans took to social media to applaud the First Lady’s efforts to fight the opioid crisis:
It's great to know that instead of Drugs are children of the future do matter. Great work you are doing Melanie. We need you! Thank you . Blessings
— joyce (@joyce41653092) October 23, 2019
Great program. Thank you for all you do and for all the foolishness you endure from the haters. You are a great First Lady and normal people throughout the Country love you.
— Tom Taber ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@TomTaber) October 23, 2019
Others pointed out it was hardly a solo trip for Melania Trump, who was accompanied by Kellyanne Conway, who serves as counselor to the President:
Doesn't look like a solo trip to me. @KellyannePolls is right there beside her.
— PatAlexander💋😎 (@PatAlexander) October 23, 2019
Not solo, kellyAnne Conjob right there with her, puppeting her thru it
— Susan Smith (@scs0216) October 23, 2019
Others strongly felt that FLOTUs was sorely unqualified to deal with the issue of drug abuse:
She has absolutely NO QUALIFICATIONS ON ANY OF THESE MATTERS.
— Mabel (@pencilmab) October 23, 2019
Her BE BEST is a failure as she can't even contain the man she is married too !
What's her experience with street drugs??
— WordsMatter (@millj919) October 23, 2019
Anyone else feel like she’s not really doing anything ever?
— crystal crafts (@paintercrystal) October 23, 2019
She has absolutely NO QUALIFICATIONS ON ANY OF THESE MATTERS.
— Mabel (@pencilmab) October 23, 2019
Her BE BEST is a failure as she can't even contain the man she is married too !
SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, also known as Substance Use–Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act, is a US federal law, enacted during the 115th United States Congress, to make medical treatment for opioid addiction more widely available while also cracking down on illicit drugs.
President Trump, who signed the bill on 24 October, 2018, dubbed it the “single largest bill to combat the drug crisis in the history of our country.”
FLOTUS also encouraged others to participate in National Drug Takeback Day, on 26 October, noting that efforts to combat widespread drug addiction were in line with her “Be Best” campaign as first lady, focusing on child welfare.
