AFRICA/MELANIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. First Lady Melania Trump laid a wreath at a 17th-century slave fortress in Ghana on Wednesday [10-3-18], vowing never to forget where Africans were held before being shipped away into further hardship, most across the Atlantic. Ghana is the jumping-off point for her first major solo international trip for Melania as first lady, a tour of Africa, a continent her husband reportedly referred to derisively. She will visit Malawi, Kenya and Egypt as well…President Donald Trump has not visited Africa since taking office in 2017. In January, U.S. media reported widely that he had described African states as ‘shithole countries’ during a discussion with lawmakers about immigration. He has denied making the remark. The Cape Coast castle, now a monument, has attracted world dignitaries including Trump’s predecessor, America’s first black president Barack Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their two children.”
–Jeff Mason, “U.S. first lady Melania Trump lays wreath at slave castle in Ghana,” Reuters, October 4, 2018 7:18 am