First Lady Melania Trump thinks she is the most bullied person in the world.
Trump, who has an estimated net worth of $50 million and holds one of the most powerful and respected roles in the world, told ABC in an interview released Thursday that her “Be Best” campaign, an initiative focused on online bullying, is personal.
“I could say I’m the most bullied person in the world,” she said.
The ABC reporter interviewing her responded almost incredulously, asking, “You think you’re the most bullied person in the world?”
EXCLUSIVE: First lady Melania Trump says her “Be Best” policy platform targeting online bullies is personal. “I could say that I’m the most bullied person in the world,” she tells ABC. https://t.co/iiEv5Z3ijv pic.twitter.com/CWZ7g9by27
— ABC News (@ABC) October 11, 2018
“One of them,” Trump said. “If you really see what people [are] saying about me.”
That’s why, she said, her initiative is focused on online behavior, because she’s concerned about how the kind of bullying she’s faced affects children like her own.
“We need to educate the children [about] social-emotional behavior, so when they grow up, they know how to deal with those issues,” Trump said. “That’s very important.”
The “Be Best” campaign has drawn consistent criticism since its inception, due in large part to Trump’s husband, President Donald Trump. A New York Times analysis from several months ago found that, as of July 10, 2018, beginning when from when he announced his candidacy, the president had slung more than 480 insults on Twitter.
In the 24 hours after the first lady’s “Be Best” speech in August alone, President Trump, on Twitter, insulted former CIA director John Brennan, DOJ official Bruce Ohr, the United States Postal System, former CIA analyst Philip Mudd, The New Yorker, Democrats, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and Hillary Clinton.
I hope John Brennan, the worst CIA Director in our country’s history, brings a lawsuit. It will then be very easy to get all of his records, texts, emails and documents to show not only the poor job he did, but how he was involved with the Mueller Rigged Witch Hunt. He won’t sue!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2018
It is outrageous that Poisonous Synthetic Heroin Fentanyl comes pouring into the U.S. Postal System from China. We can, and must, END THIS NOW! The Senate should pass the STOP ACT – and firmly STOP this poison from killing our children and destroying our country. No more delay!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2018
Disgraced and discredited Bob Mueller and his whole group of Angry Democrat Thugs spent over 30 hours with the White House Councel, only with my approval, for purposes of transparency. Anybody needing that much time when they know there is no Russian Collusion is just someone….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2018
A spokesperson for the first lady said in a statement at the time, “She is aware of the criticism but it will not deter her from doing what she feels is right. The president is proud of her commitment to children and encourages her in all that she does.”
In her interview with ABC this week, Mrs. Trump also said she at times advises her husband on hiring decisions, but that he ultimately makes his own decisions.
“I give him my honest advice and honest opinions, and then he does what he wants to do,” she said. Asked how the president responded when she told him she believed some staffers could not be trusted, she said, “Well, some people, they don’t work there anymore.”