Melania Trump got a first-hand look at what one of the detention centers on the Texas border. She made an unannounced visit to a center in McAllen, Texas where she toured and spoke with the staff:
“Thank you so much for having me here today. I’m glad I’m here and I’m looking forward to seeing and meeting the children. But first of all, let me begin to recognize each of you and thanking you for all that you do, for your heroic work that you do every day and what you do for those children. We all know they’re here without their families, and I want to thank you for your hard work, your compassion, and your kindness you’re giving them in these difficult times. I’m here to learn about your facility, and which I know you house children on a long-term basis. And I would also like to ask you how I can help these children to reunite with their families as quickly as possible. So thank you again for all that you do.”
There are mixed reactions to her visit.
Great to see the @FLOTUS on the ground in Texas getting a first-hand assessment of the family separation issue.
She represents our country so well and has had great influence on this very difficult issue.
Strong borders, tough laws and a good heart are not mutually exclusive.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 21, 2018
No one on Fox "News" said Melania Trump should go to the border and visit the jailed children, but I said it repeatedly.
Is Melania Trump watching @msnbc while her husband watches Fox?
— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) June 21, 2018
Melania Trump making a trip to a child prison doesn't put those children back together with their families. This is an attempt to demonstrate "compassion" where it's clearly been absent in people who literally put children in oversized dog kennels as political pawns.
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) June 21, 2018
Dear media, please don't repeat the White House lie that First Lady Melania Trump's visit to a border detention center is "unannounced." The only people it wasn't announced to were you and us. Call it what it is: a PR charade with crisis actor.
— Randi Mayem Singer (@rmayemsinger) June 21, 2018
There was a point also that cameras were told they couldn’t enter. There are also questions about whether the First Lady herself was given true unfiltered access.
https://twitter.com/kurteichenwald/status/1009852827584401408
Another thing related to this visit making news is the First Lady’s choice of jacket. It read, “I REALLY DON’T CARE. DO YOU?”
FLOTUS spox confirms Mrs. Trump wore a jacket to visit border kids that reads: "I really don't care. Do you?" Spox says: "It's a jacket. There was no hidden message. After today's important visit to Texas, I hope the media isn't going to choose to focus on her wardrobe." pic.twitter.com/Bp4Z8n455G
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 21, 2018
You'd think some staffer would have mustered the courage to recommend a wardrobe adjustment before allowing something like this to happen. https://t.co/k2SUf3RtT1
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) June 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/Zac_Petkanas/status/1009861430613508097