Melania Trump denounces cyberbullying one day after Donald goes after 'wacky' congresswoman on Twitter
The First Lady has made cyberbullying prevention a platform of her work while in office
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Your support makes all the difference.First Lady Melania Trump said that it is “our responsibility” to teach children “empathy” and "integrity" just one day after Donald Trump called a Congresswoman “wacky” on Twitter hours after he accused a Gold Star widow was lying.
Ms Trump was speaking at Orchard Lake Middle School in West Bloomfield, Michigan with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as a kickoff to National Bullying Prevention Month.
Ahead of the event the First Lady said: “By our own example, we must teach children to be good stewards of the world they will inherit. We need to remember that they are always watching and listening.”
Ms Trump made prevention of cyber-bullying one of her platforms when Mr Trump entered office. She said of the initative: “It is our responsibility to take the lead in teaching children the values of empathy and communication that are at the core of kindness, mindfulness, integrity, and leadership.”
Critics were quick to point out the irony of this cause of the First Lady’s as Mr Trump began to use Twitter as a means of ridiculing Democrats, Republicans who voted against party-sponsored bills, the NFL, Senator John McCain, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and a frequent target - Hillary Clinton, whom he calls “Crooked Hillary” in several dozen tweets.
His latest focus is the family of Sergeant La David T Johnson, who died in Niger on 4 October.
The recent controversy began with the deaths of Staff Sergeants Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson, Dustin Wright and Mr Johnson, who were patrolling with Niger troops when they were ambushed by militants thought to be affiliated with Isis.
The incident is still under investigation as to why Mr Johnson’s body was not recovered until 48 hours after the initial rescue operation.
Mr Trump called the pregnant widow of Mr Johnson, Myeshia Johnson, and was said to have said: “You know, he must’ve known what he signed up for.”
The details of the conversation between the President and Ms Johnson were revealed by Florida Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, a longtime family friend of the Johnsons who was in the vehicle when Ms Johnson received the phone call while on their way to meet her husband’s body at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Ms Wilson said: “When [Ms Johnson] got off the phone, she said, ‘He didn’t even know his name. He kept calling him, ‘Your guy.’”
Mr Trump vehemently denied the Congresswoman’s interpretation of the conversation and tweeted that she was “wacky” or “crazy” at least three times.
He also retweeted another Twitter user’s post with a picture of Ms Wilson and Mr Obama, writing “People get what is going on!”
The exact meaning of the tweet is unclear, but it appears to tie Ms Wilson as a “last hope” representative of Ms Clinton and Mr Obama.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later commented that “just because the President said ‘your guy’, I don’t think that means he doesn’t know his name”.
But Mr Johnson’s mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson told the Washington Post that Mr Trump did “disrespect” her son and the rest of their family.
Ms Johnson then appeared in an interview on Good Morning America when she confirmed: "Whatever Ms. Wilson said was not fabricated. What she said was 100 per cent correct.”
Just after the interviewed aired live, Mr Trump once again took to Twitter in what critics say was another example of a lack of the “empathy” to which the First Lady had referred.
He wrote: “I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation!”
The First Lady’s office has not responded to Mr Trump’s several tweets or how it may appear to conflict with her message on cyber-bullying, a campaign she kicked off at the United Nations General Assembly.
Mr Trump had just called Mr Kim “Rocket Man” in his official speech.
The First Lady said: “Nothing can be more urgent nor worthy a cause than preparing future generations for adulthood with true moral clarity and responsibility.”
We must “live by the golden rule, which is to do unto others as you would have done unto you,” Ms Trump said.
The Washington Post annotated Ms Trump’s latest statement with examples of tweets from the President’s account, both before and during his presidency.
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