BETHESDA, Maryland — First lady Melania Trump on Wednesday encouraged a group of sick teens to be candid with her — with one Romeo capitalizing on the green light.
“I don’t play chess but I know a queen when I see one,” said the smitten young man with glasses, joking he’d like to call President Trump’s wife, her “highness.”
The first lady, 55, flashed a big smile. She called the flirty cupid a “charmer” and joked that girls need to “watch out.”
The heart-warming exchange came at The Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health during a Valentine’s Day event.
Melania responded to the candor with a bit of her own, describing her busy days at the White House, encouraging the patients to “stay strong” in their health battles, and revealing her self-care routine.
Melania was joined by about a dozen kids to make Valentine’s Day crafts. The facility houses children, teens, and young adults with rare and serious diseases who are in clinical trials at Bethesda hospital.
“Don’t be shy,” she encouraged them as she sat down. When one boy admitted they didn’t know what to call her, she replied: “Melania.”
She brought them gift bags and a message of hope: “Stay well. Stay strong. I will think about you,” she told them.
She was greeted with applause and a bouquet of white roses from Lina, 11, when she entered the room. The first lady complimented Lina on her sparkling pink dress and told her, “thank you for the beautiful roses.”
But it was her time at the craft tables, making paper flower bouquets, where she got chatty with the kids.
They asked her about her life in the White House, she said she doesn’t have a lot of free time, telling them her work included helping foster children, working on executive orders, and leading the president’s AI challenge.
The tech topic grabbed the teenagers’ attention but the first lady was quick to warn them “you have to be careful” with the technology.
“It’s very positive but you have to be vigilant. You cannot believe everything,” she said.
She said she uses her free time to “take care of yourself. Exercise.”
“That is critical” for me, she said, because “I’m busy nonstop with many projects.”
The kids warmed up to her over the paper folding, asking her if she went to the Super Bowl – she told them she watched it on TV – and inquired about her taste in sports. Tennis, she said, she liked a lot and noted she’s been a skier since she was a child in Slovenia.
She bonded with another patient as they chatted about sports, asking him if he liked dancing, to which he joked he has “two left feet.” Melania noted she likes to dance but “doesn’t have a lot of time lately.”
He revealed he was at the facility for a transplant, and she wished him well, leaning over to pat his arm.
After the crafts, the first lady joined the patients at a table filled with miniature cupcakes and a variety of sweets.
As they spooned candy into gift boxes, the first lady gestured to a bowl of Starbursts and said “those are my husband’s favorites.”
As for herself, she admitted she doesn’t eat a lot of treats because “sugar is not that healthy for us.”
It was her fourth visit to The Children’s Inn. She was a regular during her first time in the White House. She recognized Annie, one of the patients, from one of those earlier visits.
“You’re so grown. You’re a teenager now,” the first lady said.
Annie said she was done with treatment and was now an ambassador to the hospital.
The first lady wrapped her visit by signing a massive Valentine’s Day card: “With love, Melania Trump.”
She then gathered the patients around her for a group photo.
“I’m glad to be here,” she said.
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