First Lady Melania Trump visited young hospital patients at Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C. on Thursday for Fourth of July-themed activities, bringing gifts and spending time with children making patriotic decorations.
Trump arrived with stuffed teddy bears, children’s books, and blankets for the kids at the hospital. The teddy bears wore shirts reading “Be Best,” her campaign focused on children’s health and well-being. She also brought gift bags containing blankets and teddy bears for the patients.
The first lady joined 10 children in the hospital’s Garden Room, where they made patriotic decorations out of rocks and cups. Trump decorated rocks for the garden with the children, drawing a red heart on one. Some children played with stretchy slime during the activities.
Trump chatted with the children about their favorite sports, food, hobbies, and music preferences. She asked kids seated around a table what they liked to do as they decorated rocks. One child said they played football, another said soccer, and a third said golf.
Trump told the children: “I love to see you all.”
The first lady later took the children out to the Bunny Mellon Healing Garden, where they placed small American flags and patriotically-colored pinwheels into the soil. Trump walked around the garden and put Fourth of July decorations in the flower beds. Some of the children carried their teddy bears with them.
The garden was named to honor Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, a friend of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Mellon was a philanthropist and avid gardener who designed the Rose Garden and other White House gardens during the Kennedy administration.
Trump brought a hybrid tea rose bush dubbed “Eternal Flame” as a gift for the healing garden, which she helped dedicate in 2017. The plant has yellow blooms, long stems, and a strong citrus fragrance. Trump, along with chief White House groundskeeper Dale Haney, inspected the new yellow rose bush donated by the White House and planted earlier in the week.
The 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. Former first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, and Rosalynn Carter serve as honorary chairs of the garden.
Trump also privately visited heart and kidney patients and their families during her time at the hospital. After the garden activities, the first lady visited the heart and kidney unit and met privately with a 3-year-old patient.
Trump’s visit continued a tradition of support by first ladies for the pediatric care center. The visit came ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, and Trump told the children about the July 4th plans at the White House, where the president is holding a military family picnic., and told the children they could come next year when they’re healthier.
President Trump and the first lady are scheduled to attend a military family picnic at the White House and watch Independence Day fireworks Friday before heading to the president’s New Jersey property for the remainder of the weekend.