United States First Lady Melania Trump led the celebration of the National Teachers’ Day on Monday by personally calling several teachers and educators. Meanwhile, her office is also continuing its coronavirus relief efforts by sending lunches to a hospital in Maryland.
Melania Trump call: FLOTUS reaches out to teachers
Over the past weeks, Trump and other public officials have been thanking frontliners working amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But this week is a little different as the First Lady leads the commemoration of the National Teachers’ Day.
Trump personally made phone calls to several teachers and educators from different parts of the country to thank them for their service. Some of the call recipients acknowledged the First Lady’s actions on Twitter. “Words cannot express my appreciation and gratitude to Melania Trump for calling me today,” Melissa Lime wrote, whose Twitter profile indicates she works as K-8 assistant principal.
The White House confirmed Trump had made phone calls to educators teaching in elementary, middle, and high school levels from private and public schools. “The coronavirus pandemic has shown the importance for all of us to come together to try new and innovative ways to provide the world’s best education for each and every one of our great students,” Trump said in a statement.
Back in April, Trump also kept her Twitter followers up-to-date about the series of phone calls she made to other world leaders amid the global pandemic. She confirmed making calls to first ladies of other nations namely Brigitte Macron of France, Laura Mattarella of Italy, and Akie Abe of Japan.
Melania Trump: What has she done during the coronavirus pandemic in America
When the pandemic started to creep across America in March, Trump faced scrutiny after allegedly not paying much attention to it. Other reports suggest she was not visible enough amid the crisis. As if a response to those claims, Trump started appearing in several PSA videos including one where she briefly stressed the need to wear cloth face coverings in public as a safety precaution.
In recent weeks, Trump has started sending care packages to various hospitals under her Be Best initiative. The First Lady has also donated 150 lunch packs to a children's hospital in Maryland on Monday.
The White House did not extend the federal guidelines on social distancing beyond April 30. This left the decision to open establishments up to every state government. As of Monday, May 5, the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 had reached more than 1.17 million while the total deaths are now at 68,279.