Melania Trump breaks with the president on media ban

Leonardo Munoz/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has implemented a ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico at the White House, seizing reporters’ credentials amid what he deems unfair coverage. First lady Melania Trump, however, is taking a different approach on press freedom.

The office of the first lady formally approved CNN’s and Politico’s press credentials for a Tuesday event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly about expanding her “Fostering the Future Together” coalition, an effort aimed at promoting children’s well-being with education and technology.

CNN’s credential for Tuesday’s event was approved on Sunday evening, one day after the president’s ban went into effect. The three national news outlets filed a critical First Amendment lawsuit to restore their access, and a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

The first lady is meticulously involved in the details around her events and public appearances — from the substance of her remarks to the diplomatic message she sends with her outfits to the minutiae in press releases. She is aware of the ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico, according to a source familiar with the matter, and her office had discretion over whether reporters from those outlets would be credentialed for Tuesday’s event.

The decision to approve those credentials underscores how Trump operates — independently of her husband, doing things her way. She spends her time largely away from the White House, keeps a small inner circle and has pursued a portfolio of her own initiatives. She speaks out on a handful of issues she feels strongly about — including the stark, unexpected decision to distance herself from Jeffrey Epstein earlier this year.

Press freedom wasn’t the only subtle break from her husband on Tuesday. The first lady also struck a more cautious tone on the advancement of AI — and the technology’s potential dangers if not used carefully.

“We stand together at the threshold of a technological revolution,” she told a ballroom luncheon of first spouses and diplomats, hours after her husband downplayed calls for global AI regulations in his speech nearby at the UN.

Unveiling new partnerships with tech companies including Amazon, Intel and Google, Melania Trump implored her counterparts to put children at the forefront of AI development. “Artificial intelligence is transforming entire business sectors and expanding how humanity accesses the largest corpus of information ever available to humanity,” she said.

“But access alone is not empowerment. We must give our children the tools — and teach them how to use those tools wisely,” she added.

Trump’s initiative, launched during last year’s gathering of world leaders, now has 57 participating countries, with plans for coalition events at the upcoming G20 summit in Miami and the ASEAN conference in the Philippines, along with regional meetings in Europe and the Caribbean.

Her work on responsible AI use and especially foster youth underscores how she’s charted her own course as first lady — often skipping more ceremonial appearances typical of the role but engaging more intensely in her own policy operation than during her husband’s first term, when her multipronged “Be Best” initiative failed to gain significant traction or results.

Still, the first lady remains one of her husband’s most trusted advisers, and her public appearances have been rare.

Trump has largely eschewed on-camera interviews, with the exception of a handful of appearances on Fox News, and she’s fielded questions from reporters on rare occasions — like during the premiere of her eponymous documentary and an event with freed Israeli hostages.

There were no opportunities for reporters to engage with her on Tuesday, though Trump is expected to appear on “Fox and Friends” on Wednesday.

Leonardo Munoz/AFP/Getty Images

唐纳德·特朗普总统已在白宫实施了对CNN、MS NOW和Politico的禁令，并没收了记者的证件，理由是他认为这些媒体报道不公。然而，第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普对新闻自由采取了不同的态度。

第一夫人办公室正式批准了 CNN 和 Politico 的记者证，允许他们参加周二在联合国大会期间举行的活动，该活动旨在扩大她的“携手共创未来”联盟，该联盟致力于通过教育和技术促进儿童福祉。

CNN周二活动的采访许可于周日晚间获批，而总统的禁令已于次日生效。三家全国性新闻机构提起了一项至关重要的第一修正案诉讼，要求恢复其采访权限，听证会定于周三举行。

第一夫人对她出席的活动和公开露面的每一个细节都亲力亲为——从讲话内容到着装传递的外交信息，再到新闻稿中的细枝末节，无一不体现着她的用心。据一位知情人士透露，她知晓CNN、MS NOW和Politico被禁播一事，而她的办公室有权决定是否向这些媒体的记者发放周二活动的采访证。

批准这些证件的决定凸显了特朗普的行事风格——她独立于丈夫之外，按自己的方式行事。她大部分时间都待在白宫之外，只维持着一个很小的核心圈子，并推行了一系列自己的计划。她会就一些她强烈关注的问题发表意见——包括今年早些时候出人意料地与杰弗里·爱泼斯坦划清界限。

周二，新闻自由并非她与丈夫唯一微妙的分歧所在。第一夫人对人工智能的发展也持更为谨慎的态度，并指出如果使用不当，这项技术可能带来的潜在危险。

“我们共同站在一场技术革命的门槛上，”她在一场由各国第一夫人和外交官参加的宴会厅午宴上说道。几个小时前，她的丈夫在附近的联合国发表讲话，淡化了对全球人工智能监管的呼吁。

梅拉尼娅·特朗普在宣布与亚马逊、英特尔和谷歌等科技公司建立新的合作伙伴关系时，恳请各国同行将儿童置于人工智能发展的首要位置。她说：“人工智能正在改变整个商业领域，并拓展人类获取有史以来最庞大信息库的方式。”

“但仅仅提供机会并不等于赋予他们力量。我们必须给孩子们提供工具——并教会他们如何明智地使用这些工具，”她补充道。

特朗普的这项倡议是在去年的世界领导人聚会期间发起的，目前已有 57 个参与国，计划在即将举行的迈阿密 G20 峰会和菲律宾东盟会议上举行联合活动，并在欧洲和加勒比地区举行区域会议。

她在负责任的人工智能使用，尤其是对寄养青年的关注方面所做的工作，凸显了她作为第一夫人如何规划自己的道路——她经常省略该角色典型的礼仪性露面，但比在她丈夫的第一任期内更积极地参与自己的政策运作。在她丈夫的第一任期内，她提出的多管齐下的“做到最好”倡议未能取得显著进展或成果。

不过，第一夫人仍然是她丈夫最信任的顾问之一，她很少公开露面。

除了在福克斯新闻频道露面几次之外，特朗普基本上避免接受镜头采访，而她也很少在特定场合回答记者的提问——例如在她同名纪录片的首映式上，以及与获释的以色列人质举行的活动中。

周二记者们没有机会与她交流，不过预计特朗普将于周三出现在“福克斯与朋友们”节目中。