President Donald Trump certainly isn’t shy about calling out the “Fake News Media.” But even he might have been surprised to hear first lady Melania Trump echo his criticism, as she announced that the media should help build public awareness about the deadly opioid crisis instead of covering celebrity gossip and improbable Russian conspiracy theories.
A national health crisis
During a town hall event for her “Be Best” initiative in Las Vegas last month, Trump called on the media to put aside “idle gossip and trivial conversation” and instead “take a moment…to cover this very real issue as often as possible.” She pointed out that 72,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2017, which translates roughly 8 people dying a day from this preventable epidemic.
“I challenge the press to devote as much time to the lives lost and the potential lives that could be saved, by dedicating the same amount of coverage that you do to idle gossip or trivial stories,” Trump explained. “When we see breaking news on TV or the front pages of newspapers, it is my hope that it can be about how many lives we were able to save through education and honest dialogue.”
Trump fielded questions from event moderator and Fox News host Eric Bolling, who lost his own son to a drug overdose on Sept. 8, 2017. He asked his distinguished guest about the media’s current handling of the drug outbreak.
“Well I wish the media would talk about more — and educate more children, also adults, parents — about the opioid crisis that we have in the United States,” the first lady said. “They do it already, but I think not enough.”
Shaming the press
Next, Bolling asked what the media could do to help the White House fight the opioid epidemic, as well as how reporters might contribute to Trump’s Be Best campaign, which is designed to help children fight drug addiction, cyberbullying and other challenges they face.
“It should be on every media, on the front pages of the newspapers,” Trump replied. “And I’m sure a lot of people would follow and go home and talk with children and educate them so they are responsible adults, and show them how drugs can be dangerous.”
Trump has decided to adopt her husband’s defensive style when it comes to the media. Indeed, she is unwilling to give journalists the benefit of the doubt who are always attacking her.
Bolling reminded the first lady of the time that the press collectively mocked her for decorating one room of the White House with red Christmas trees during the holiday season. “I remember,” Trump replied when her host brought up the “blood trees” that the media compared to the horror film The Shining.
“Guess what, I think you started a red Christmas tree phenomenon in America,” Bolling said, pointing out how Trump inadvertently started a trend.
Opioid crisis remains a priority
The Trumps appeared in Atlanta on Wednesday to speak about the opioid crisis. The president pledged to keep working “until our job is done.” “My administration is deploying every resource at our disposal to empower you, to support you and to fight right by your side,” Trump promised. “We will not solve this epidemic overnight but we will stop. … There’s just nothing going to stop us, no matter how you cut it.”
Melania Trump, in introducing the president, focused on the risks the opioid crisis poses to children. “We will continue to raise awareness of the dangers of opioids to unborn babies. We are also committed to supporting more treatment facilities that help both mothers & babies recover, & replace the bond of addiction w the bond of love between a mother & child,” she said. Watch below:
One pillar of @FLOTUS‘ #BeBest initiative is addressing America’s opioid crisis. Today, she and President Trump are at the Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, Georgia: pic.twitter.com/MK8qQYbEnL
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 24, 2019
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