WASHINGTON — President Trump showed his wife Melania some love with a European-style exchange of kisses Thursday as he turned over the lectern to her at a White House pre-Mother’s Day celebration of military moms.
“I especially want to thank one of the best moms that I know, that I’ve ever seen. Sometimes she’s almost too good,” Trump gushed at the East Room gathering.
“She is so good with [son] Barron, but he’s grown up strong and nice, and he’s a good boy. He’s a good student. So I want to thank you. You’ve done a great job. Thank you — great first lady.”
Trump added: “It’s my pleasure to introduce that very special woman that I talked about, our great first lady, and she’s loved by all.”
The president praised his spouse for her first-term role of refreshing the White House Rose Garden — which he intends to further alter later this month by adding pavers over its grassy lawn.
“I just walked by the Rose Garden, and that is the most beautiful thing. We saw it yesterday,” he said.
“You know, she took a lot of heat. She did it — it was so gorgeous, and they couldn’t, these people couldn’t do that if they tried. And those flowers were blooming … But you did some job. Thank you very much, honey. Come on up.”
In her own remarks, the first lady encouraged fellow mothers to “prioritize your wellbeing [and] nurture yourself — for your strength is the bedrock of a brighter future for our children.
“By caring for ourselves, we empower the next generation to thrive,” she said.
Melania Trump co-headlined the event one day after publication of a New York Times article which noted that she had spent fewer than 14 days at the White House out of the initial 108 of her husband’s second term.
The president and first lady frequently spend weekends at one of his properties, such as Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, or — in Melania’s case — Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan.
