Latest news with #firstladies
Telegraph
03-07-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Melania Trump visits children's hospital in rare public appearance
Melania Trump visited sick children in a rare public appearance on Thursday. The first lady met with patients at the Children's National Hospital in Washington DC, as the children made arts and crafts ahead of American Independence Day on July 4. Mrs Trump, continuing a tradition of support by first ladies for the paediatric care centre, helped the children to decorate rocks and cups. She brought gifts of teddy bears for the children and chatted with them about July 4, telling them that they should come and celebrate at the White House next year, 'when they are healthier'. Two children coloured rocks for her and gave them to her as presents. Later, Mrs Trump headed to the healing garden, where she helped patients decorate the space with patriotic bows. She was joined by Michelle Riley-Brown, the hospital president and chief executive. The Bunny Mellon Healing Garden was named to honour Rachel 'Bunny' Mellon, a friend of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Mrs Mellon was a philanthropist and avid gardener who designed the Rose Garden and other White House gardens during the Kennedy administration. Mrs Trump unveiled the 'Eternal Flame,' a classically shaped hybrid Tea Rose with yellow blooms, long stems, and a strong citrus fragrance. The bush is her gift to the healing garden this year. 'I love to see you all,' she told the children. The healing garden was dedicated to America's first ladies because of their decades-long support for the hospital and its patients, including a traditional first lady visit at Christmastime that dates back to Bess Truman. Mrs Trump, along with Dale Haney, the chief White House groundskeeper, is set to inspect the planting of a new yellow rose bush donated by the White House and planted earlier in the week at the hospital garden. Mrs Trump has been notably absent from Washington during Donald Trump's second term, spending fewer than 14 days at the residence since he took office 108 days ago, according to a report in the New York Times earlier this year. The 55-year-old instead spends much of her time in Trump Tower in Manhattan or in Florida, out of the prying eyes of the public in Mar-a-Lago. 'We haven't seen such a low-profile first lady since Bess Truman,' Katherine Jellison, a historian of first ladies said.
South China Morning Post
25-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
South Korea's first lady problem: plagiarism, privilege and Kim Keon-hee
When a top private university revoked the master's degree of South Korea 's former first lady for plagiarism this week, it was more than just another routine academic scandal – it was a signal that the days of unchecked privilege for political spouses may be over. Advertisement On Monday, Sookmyung Women's University announced it had annulled the art education degree awarded to Kim Keon-hee in 1999 – submitted under her previous name, Kim Myung-shin – after its research ethics panel found the thesis was so seriously compromised that cancellation was warranted. For many critics, the decision was long overdue. Yet it also marks a watershed moment: a sign of rising public demand for transparency and consequences not just for elected officials, but for those who orbit them. The fallout, political analysts say, could redefine the expectations placed on future first ladies in a country where unofficial power has long operated outside formal scrutiny. 'It's rare in modern political history for a leader's spouse to remain so prominently and persistently at the centre of controversy,' Choi Jin, head of the Institute for Presidential Leadership, told This Week in Asia. 'From now on, the public will be watching not just elected officials, but their families too.' Kim, the embattled wife of impeached former president Yoon Suk-yeol , has faced mounting legal and political pressure in recent months. The university's move comes after years of accusations that it had hesitated to act, despite public uproar and findings that nearly half of her thesis had been plagiarised. Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee are facing multiple investigations over alleged offences ranging from stock manipulation to political interference. Photo: AFP 'This decision was made to uphold research ethics and reinforce academic integrity,' the university said in a statement.
