Melania Trump's 'Be Best' Campaign Has Familiar Ring
*By Christian Smith*
The Office of the First Lady fired back at news media reports Tuesday that Melania Trump's "Be Best" campaign was plagiarized from materials produced by the Federal Trade Commission during the Obama administration.
As part of her flagship program to focus on childhood well-being in America, Trump's office released a [pamphlet with advice] (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Talking-with-kids-about-being-online-_2018.pdf) for parents about educating their children on cyber bullying. [News reports](https://www.buzzfeed.com/blakemontgomery/melania-trump-cyberbullying-pamphlet?utm_term=.leE5ryNQl#.htvJ4qbQr) were quick to note that the pamphlet contains content from a 2009 FTC pamphlet on the same topic.
The First Lady's communications director, Stephanie Grisham, released a [statement Tuesday] (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-communications-director/) slamming the "opposition media" for turning attention away from the children the First Lady is trying to help.
"Despite providing countless outlets with ample background, information, and on-the-record comments from the FTC, some media have chosen to take a day meant to promote kindness and positive efforts on behalf of children, to instead lob baseless accusations towards the First Lady and her new initiatives," Grisham said in the statement.
This isn't the first time that First Lady Trump has been accused of copying her predecessor. In her speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention, Trump reused parts of a speech that Michelle Obama gave in 2008 at the Democratic National Convention.
Trump launched her "Be Best" initiative in the Rose Garden on Monday with the goal of improving the lives of children across the country. She said her office will focus on mental health, opioid abuse, and negativity on social media. How she plans to address these issues is slightly less concrete. Erin Delmore, the senior political correspondent at Bustle, said it's a question that she's been asking Trump's office repeatedly.
"We've seen her put out a brochure, a pamphlet that's talking to parents about how to educate their children when it comes to cyberbullying, and we've also seen this quest to really go to neo-natal units to work on young babies who are born with opioid addiction, but we are looking, waiting to see what those critical steps are going to be," Delmore said in an interview Tueday with Cheddar.
Many reports have focused on the fact that the First Lady's announcement comes almost 16 months into her husband's presidency. Other recent first ladies have launched initiatives earlier in their husbands' terms. Laura Bush, for example, initiated her literacy campaign six months into President George W. Bush's first term. Michelle Obama, however, announced her "Let's Move" campaign to fight childhood obesity in February 2010, about 13 months after her husband took office.
Delmore said Trump is different from her immediate predecessors because she's new to politics.
"She didn't come from a corporate background, and she hasn't been the wife of somebody active in politics, and being a political spouse is a totally different ball game," Delmore said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/melania-trump-launches-new-child-focused-initiative-be-best).
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine raging on, millions have turned to TikTok to stay up-to-date on the latest developments and get a first-hand look. The social media platform has been so prominent that the war has been dubbed "the first TikTok war" by many publications — and even the White House has taken notice. The Biden administration held a virtual briefing with 30 social media creators to discuss their role in communicating to their followers by countering what it deems as being misinformation. Ellie Zeiler, an 18-year-old TikTok star who attended the briefing, joined Cheddar to talk about the conference and her responsibilities as a social media creator. "How could you not be a little nervous or scared when you're getting your information and media all from this app? But also then you think back to, I guess, when media was changing between newspapers and TV, and I'm sure people were nervous about that too," she said. "So the fact is, is that people do really look to Tiktok and social media for their news."
U.S. markets closed the day at session lows as the Dow marked its fifth straight week of losses. Investors continue to weigh inflation and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and growing economic risk factors. George Seay, CEO of Annandale Capital, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
U.S. stocks ended Thursday's session lower as new CPI data show inflation continues to rise and the Russia-Ukraine war continues. Philip Palumbo, founder, CEO, & Chief Investment Officer of Palumbo Wealth Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
It's been an eventful past few weeks for the WNBA. One of the league's top players, Brittney Griner, remains in Russian custody after being detained at an airport last month. The league is also dealing with a scandal after fining a team for providing charter flights to their players. Emily Caron, sports business reporter for Sportico, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
School nutrition experts warn that millions of children could go hungry as soon as this summer, after Congress excluded waivers that would extend universal lunch for children in school from the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill. Cheddar News speaks with Jessica Gould, chair of the public policy and legislation committee at the School Nutrition Association, about the issue.
The ongoing semiconductor chip shortage has been impacting everything from the purchase of cars to smartphones. Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves spoke with Cheddar about the Biden administration's efforts to combat the issue and if the current crisis in Ukraine will have any impact on the global supply chain problems for semiconductors. "We're working very closely with all of our partners and allies around the globe, just as we have on the export controls and sanctions that we've applied to Russia to deal with that needless aggression," he said. "We're also working with them on the challenges of raw materials for a range of industries, including the semiconductor industry. We believe that we are going to be able to meet the demand for the for the near term."
Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves spoke to Cheddar's Alex Vuocolo about the ongoing semiconductor shortages and the push from the Biden administration to cover the supply chain problem as well as look ahead to future-proofing it.
President Maxx Fenning and Vice President CJ Walden of PRISM, a Florida non-profit providing resources for LGBTQ youth, joined Cheddar News to discuss the negative repercussions of a Florida bill banning discussions of sexuality and gender identity in some classrooms.
