Melania Trump ditches fight against cyber-bullying to tackle drug use

But she's still being 'thoughtful' about cyber-bulling, so that's good

melania trump

But she's still being 'thoughtful' about cyber-bulling, so that's good

Words by Jadie Troy-Pryde

Donald Trump may have become a bit of a Twitter rant pro (covfefe, anyone?), and considering he has used the social media platform to attack everyone from the London Mayor to Chrissy Teigen it was perhaps a tad ironic that his wife, Melania, took such a strong stance on cyber-bullying before her husband became the president.

'Our culture has gotten too mean and too violent,’ she told a rally crowd before becoming the First Lady. ‘It is never OK when a 12-year-old girl or boy is mocked, bullied or attacked. It is terrible when that happens on the playground and it is unacceptable when it’s done by someone with no name hiding on the internet.’

She went on to promise a campaign against online bullying, but after seven months in office there has been little else said on the matter - bar her press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, commenting: 'Mrs. Trump is being very thoughtful when it comes to building out her initiatives.'

Great! At least she's being 'thoughtful'.

However, it seems that Melania is ditching her crusade against trolls in favour of fighting drug addiction in the US. Yesterday, she tweeted: 'Opoids are destroying our youth/people. Mtg w @POTUS & @SecPriceMD today to give my support to #stopdrugaddiction.' Combined with a stock image of nondescript pills and some WordArt, her message was clear.

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Grisham explained her decision to champion a new cause, saying: 'Opioid abuse is an escalating health crisis affecting countless families across the country.

‘The well-being of children is a priority for the First Lady, and this epidemic affects them in many different ways so she requested to attend today’s briefing.’

Drug use is a huge problem in the US, with over 35,000 people having died from overdoses and prescription opiates or heroin in 2015 alone. Shockingly, the leading cause of death for Americans under 50 is actually prescription pain killers.

A worthy cause, there's no question about that - so let's hope she's more 'thoughtful' about how to move forward with the issue.

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