Melania Trump Is Traveling Across The Country For A “Be Best” Tour

On Thursday, the Office of the First Lady announced Melania Trump's upcoming Be Best tour. The tour will take place from March 4-5, and will cover three states in that short period of time: Oklahoma, Washington State, and Nevada. Within these three states, Melania will visit a school, a tech company, and even hold a town hall in Nevada on the topic of opioid abuse.

The purpose of the tour, according to a press release posted by the first lady's communications director, Stephanie Grisham, will be to "promote the three pillars of [Trump's] initiative...the well being of children, online safety, and opioid abuse." During the tour, in addition to hosting a town hall in Nevada, Trump will visit an "award-winning" school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and also stop at a tech company in Seattle, Washington. The names of the school and company haven't been released yet.

In a statement that was incorporated into FLOTUS' press release (which can be seen in full below), Trump said,

Whether it is social media and technology or drug and alcohol abuse, children in our country and around the world are faced with many challenges. Through Be Best I will continue to shine a spotlight on the well-being programs that provide children the tools an skills required for emotional, social, and physical well-being and promote successful organizations, programs, and people who are helping children overcome some of the issues they face while growing up in the modern world.

On Twitter following the announcement, FLOTUS doubled down on her beliefs, writing:

Looking forward to visiting OK, WA and NV next week. Through #BeBest I will continue to help promote successful programs that provide children the tools and skills required for emotional, social and physical well-being.

The first lady's initiative seems to have gained steam in recent months, with Trump visiting sick children in Washington D.C. on Feb. 14, and her upcoming three-state tour looming on the horizon.

During her Be Best launch speech in May 2018, NPR reported, Trump said she wanted to "shine a spotlight on the people, organizations and programs across the country that are helping children overcome the many issues they are facing as they grow up," and she has reiterated that goal since. In particular, she's also spoken up several times about bullying.

In an ABC News interview in October, for example, Trump asserted that she was "the most bullied person in the world." She went on to add, "We need to educate the children of social-emotional behavior, so when they grow up, they know how to deal with those issues. That's very important."

Following this interview, Grisham further clarified the first lady's comments, saying in a statement as relayed by The New York Times, “Her point was that people can be very cruel online, so it’s through Be Best that she hopes to educate children and provide tools to help them cope with dangerous online behavior.”

It's unclear how much of Trump's tour will be televised, but more details will likely be revealed as the dates approach.