4/9/2018

BETSY DEVOS/EDUCATION/MELANIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “First lady Melania Trump started a conversation on emotions at the White House on Monday afternoon, hosting 13 local middle school students in the Blue Room for an intimate listening session on the issues they face at school, at home and with their friends. Joined by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who briefly introduced Trump before taking a seat at the back of the room, the first lady welcomed the students, who came from public, charter and home schools…Standing in front of a smart screen with a special pen, Trump invited the middle schoolers to come up and write their feelings on the screen, which elicited responses from ‘nervous’ to ‘happy’ to ‘respected.’ Press was escorted out of the event, but a ‘wide-ranging’ discussion continued for an hour, per East Wing communications director Stephanie Grisham. Monday’s event marks another effort by the first lady to put her finger on the pulse of the issues young people are faced with, a burgeoning platform with growing areas of focus and no scheduled rollout on the calendar.”

-Kate Bennett and Betsy Klein, “Melania Trump hosts student listening session,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, April 9, 2018