Melania Trump will keep Be Best going and has hired three members of staff in Florida for her own office as a former First Lady
Melania Trump plans to keep her Be Best initiative going as part of her post-White House life, basing the program out of her Florida home.
Her intention is to 'maintain 'Be Best,' a source told CNN of the former first lady's plans.
Trump's signature initiative never caught fire like Michelle Obama's Let's Move and Laura Bush's National Book festival did. It consisted of three pillars: children's health and well-being, online safety and combating the the opioid crisis.
But she didn't hold regular events promoting her program - which she launched in May 2018 - and updates on it were rare, raising questions as to the exact nature of its accomplishments.
Melania Trump plans to keep her Be Best initiative going as part of her post-White House life
Melania Trump will base her post-White House life in Florida, where she and former President Donald Trump are living at their Mar-a-Lago club. She will establish an office in Palm Beach.
She brought three of her East Wing staffers with her to her post-White House life: Hayley D'Antuono, who served as her director of operations and trip supervisor, is now Trump's chief of staff; Mary 'Casey' Finzer, a low level staffer, also joined Trump as did Marcia Kelly, who served as an unpaid senior adviser to the first lady.
She and President Donald Trump skipped President Joe Biden's swearing-in ceremony, landing in Florida before he took the oath of office on Inauguration Day.
It was the first time Melania Trump had been publicly seen since the Trumps returned to the White House on December 31 from Palm Beach, where they had spent the holiday season.
Dressed in somber black, Melania Trump left the White House in a pricey Chanel jacket and $70,000 Hermes Birkin bag.
The outgoing first lady did address the president's farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, just outside of Washington D.C., before the couple left for Florida.
'Being your First Lady was my greatest honor,' she said. 'Thank you for your love and support. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. God bless you all, God bless your families and God bless this beautiful nation.'
On the flight down she changed into a colorful caftan - a $3,700 Gucci dress - for her arrival in Palm Beach.
There Melania Trump made waves on social media when she refused to stop and pose for waiting photographers upon her arrival in Florida — instead striding away from them without so much as a wave while her husband posed for pictures.
Video of the moment a stony-faced Melania, 50, purposefully walked straight past the media at Palm Beach Airport while leaving husband Donald went viral on Twitter, where users are pointing out that the mother-of-one appears to 'give no f***s' anymore, with some even speculating that she is moments away from filing for divorce.
She's out! Upon landing in Palm Beach after leaving the White House, Melania Trump didn't break stride as her husband waved as photographers, and continued walking her car
Going out with a bang: Melania put on a very stylish but somber show as she left the White House with her husband for the final time, marking the end of his presidency
What a different a flight makes! Melania Trump looked ready for a vacation as she touched down in Florida wearing a colorful $3,700 Gucci dress, having changed out of the somber all-black ensemble she wore to leave the White House
Bidding farewell: Upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Donald and Melania both addressed a crowd of supporters before they boarded Air Force One for a final flight
In her farewell address, posted online two days before she left the White House, Melania Trump denounced violence and called on Americans to 'be best.'
'Do not lose sight of your integrity and values. Use every opportunity to show consideration for another person, and build good habits into your daily lives. In all circumstances, I ask every American to be an ambassador of Be Best. To focus on what unites us, to raise above what divides us, to always choose love over hatred, peace over violence, and others before yourself,' she said in the nearly seven minute video.
'Be passionate in everything you do. But always remember that violence is never the answer and will never be justified,' she said nearly two weeks after a mob of pro-Trump supporters swarmed the Capitol and interrupted the certification of election results. The first lady's original response was criticized for calling out those who gossiped about her.
But she also caused controversy in her final days at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue when she snubbed Jill Biden not giving her successor a tour of the family wing of the White House.
Melania Trump denounced violence and called on Americans to 'be best' to one another in a farewell video posted to her social media accounts
Melania Trump touted her Be Best campaign in her farewell address, she launched her initiative in May 2018
Melania Trump caused controversy in her final days at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue when she snubbed Jill Biden not giving her successor a tour of the family wing of the White House.
In her farewell address, Trump called out a cornucopia of items, veering from the military, the work of healthcare and frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the fight against the opioid epidemic, and her Be Best initiative.
'My fellow Americans, it has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as First Lady of the United States,' she began.
She ended by expressing gratitude for her four years in the White House.
'Together as one national family, we can continue to be the light of hope for future generations and carry on America's legacy of rising our nation to greater heights through our spirit of courage, goodness, and fate. No words can express the depth of my gratitude for the privilege of having served as your first lady. To all the people of this country, you will be my heart forever. Thank you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America,' she said.
Melania Trump is leaving the White House with a lower approval rating that the three first ladies who proceeded her
She left the White House with 47 per cent approval of her tenure, 12 points less than Michelle Obama who left a 69 per cent approval rating of her job as first lady, according to a CNN/ORC poll.
Laura Bush exited the White House with a 67 per cent approval rating and Hillary Clinton was at 56 per cent upon her departure as first lady.
Melania Trump's approval rating, however, is much higher than her husband's - by double digits. Only 33 per cent approve of the job President Donald Trump has done.
First ladies traditionally have higher poll numbers than their husbands given their roles is much less political.
But Melania Trump, 50, has taken a low-key approach to the job compared to her predecessors. She spent her final days in the White House out of sight, packing up the family belongings and preparing for the next chapter in their lives.
And she defended the renovation work she oversaw during her four years in the White House.
Under her careful eye, the White House Bowling Alley, Tennis Pavilion and Rose Garden under went redesigns.
Most of Melania's work was subject to criticism, however, particularly when she posted on social media about the pavilion, which was being redone while the country battled the COVID epidemic and the economy was tanking. Online critics compared the first lady to Maria Antoinette.
But Melania defended that work, claiming 'over the course of 2020, our country has suffered the devastating and unexpected loss of life due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The economic impact of the pandemic, which has been felt by so many in this country, has profoundly shaped our shared experience of American life.'
'As a result, it was with a great sensitivity to the wider national backdrop that I unveiled two long-planned projects on the White House grounds,' she added, referring to the pavilion and the installation of 'Floor Frame' sculpture by Isamu Noguchi in the newly restored Rose Garden.
In the 850-word essay posted to the White House website before she left the White House, Melania wrote she undertook the work to preserve the house's heritage.
'The projects that I have overseen during the last four years are ones which I believe will not only preserve the house’s heritage but enhance the experience of its beauty and solemnity for generations to come,' she noted in the piece entitled 'Honoring American Craftsmanship in the People’s House.'
She hinted she left work to be finished by Jill Biden.
'The restoration and conservation of the priceless Zuber wallpaper in the Family Dining Room, perhaps the most ambitious project of the Administration, remains to be completed, and will be, I hope, admired by all who see its beauty,' Melania noted.
She thanked the staff and craftsmen who worked on the projects with her.
'As this chapter comes to a close, it is important to acknowledge the many people and departments without whom my role as First Lady would not have been possible. Both the White House Office of the Curator and the White House Historical Association have worked tirelessly to ensure these projects met their standards of preservation, conservation, and scholarly excellence. I am grateful for those who in a private capacity have so generously donated to my initiatives and to the collection as a whole,' she noted.
Melania Trump posted a final message defending the renovation work she oversaw in the White House, including controversial projects like the Tennis Pavilion
Ivanka Trump posted a photo of her three children leaving their hand prints in the White House Children's Garden - a tradition of presidential grand children
The Tennis Pavilion was being redone while the country battled the COVID epidemic and the economy was tanking. Online critics compared the first lady to Maria Antoinette
Melania was criticized for her work in the White House Rose Garden, where she returned the layout closer to the original design in the time of John F. Kennedy
But in her four years in the national spotlight, Melania Trump made more news for what she has worn - the infamous 'I really don't care' jacket on a Texas trip and her pith helmet on her Africa trip - that for what she's done.
Her rare public comments - like her statement after the January 6th MAGA riot at the Capitol - resulted in her being called selfish for focusing on gossip about herself.
Five days after the attacked that resulted in five deaths, the first lady published a statement that acknowledged the deaths of her husband's supporters before the deaths of two Capitol Police officers - and lashed out extensively at 'gossip' about her.
'My heart goes out to: Air Force Veteran, Ashli Babbit, Benjamin Philips, Kevin Greeson, Rosanne Boyland, and Capitol Police Officers, Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood. I pray for their families comfort and strength during this difficult time,' she wrote.
But in her 600-word essay published by the White House, she quickly turned the situation to herself, slamming the 'salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me' - a reference to reports she was conducting a photo shoot in the White House during the MAGA mob scene.
'I find it shameful that surrounding these tragic events there has been salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me – from people who are looking to be relevant and have an agenda. This time is solely about healing our country and its citizens. It should not be used for personal gain,' she wrote in the message entitled Our Path Forward.
Melania Trump made more news for what she has worn - such as the infamous 'I really don't care' jacket on a Texas trip in June 2018 - that for what she's done
As a White House source told The Mail on Sunday that during the January 6th siege of the Capitol, the first lady was in the East Wing of the White House overseeing a photo shoot for a new coffee table book about presidential artifacts.
'The heart of US government was under siege, our very democracy on the line, but Mrs Trump was calmly arranging porcelain figurines for the photographer,' the source said, saying even the most loyal remaining Trump staffers were left 'dumbfounded' by her actions.
Aides even asked Melania to intercede on the day of the riot, to force her husband to publicly decry the insurgency, but she refused.
'She said nothing. She remained silent and carried on arranging a vase for the shoot. She checked out of this presidency and her marriage a long time ago.'
Additionally, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who worked in the East Wing in the early days of the administration and then wrote a memoir of her time there that painted Melania in an unflattering light, wrote in The Daily Beast that she is 'ashamed' to have ever worked for the first lady.
'I can't believe how blind I was to the depth of her deception and lack of common decency,' Wolkoff wrote.
Without mentioning those claims directly in her statement, Melania condemned what she said were 'false misleading accusations on me' from 'people who are looking to be relevant and have an agenda'.
The first lady said she was praying for the families of the four protesters and two Capitol Police officers who died in the hours and days after the attack.
She added that 'our nation must heal in a civil manner', after President Trump initially praised the mob as 'very special' but later condemned the violence.
'Make no mistake about it, I absolutely condemn the violence that has occurred on our Nation's Capitol. Violence is never acceptable,' she wrote.
She went on: 'As an American, I am proud of our freedom to express our viewpoints without persecution. It is one of the paramount ideals which America is fundamentally built on.
'Many have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect that right. With that in mind, I would like to call on the citizens of this country to take a moment, pause, and look at things from all perspectives.
'I implore people to stop the violence, never make assumptions based on the color of a person's skin or use differing political ideologies as a basis for aggression and viciousness. We must listen to one another, focus on what unites us, and rise above what divides us.'