The White House has found a new messenger to communicate the coronavirus crisis to the public: First Lady Melania Trump. After largely distancing herself from husband Donald Trump’s presidential agenda, the First Lady is now pitching in to help the Trump administration’s coronavirus response, which has ramped up in recent days as the president has finally realized the enormity of the rapidly-spreading pandemic. The White House announced Wednesday that Melania will be one of several administration and public health officials who will appear in new nationwide public service announcements, which will educate Americans on how to protect themselves and others against Covid-19.
The White House’s PSAs will be nationally broadcast as part of a partnership with the Ad Council and major media networks and platforms, which the White House said Wednesday will “benefit high-risk populations and the general public with public service announcements (PSAs) around social distancing, personal hygiene, and mental health.” In addition to the First Lady, PSAs “communicat[ing] the most important ways Americans can protect themselves and those most at risk” will also be delivered by the coronavirus task force’s top medical professionals, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, along with Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams and other administration officials. Major media platforms and networks will also broadcast public health campaigns alongside the White House, including NBC/Universal, ViacomPBS, iHeartMedia, and ABC/Walt Disney Television, which will use its platforms to “promote priority messaging” aimed at parents and families. All PSAs will direct Americans to coronavirus.gov for up-to-date information on the pandemic, and airtime for the government PSAs will be donated by the media networks.
Melania’s new public role in the coronavirus crisis comes after the First Lady had previously drawn scrutiny for appearing to ignore the rapidly-escalating public health emergency. The First Lady declined to mention coronavirus at all during a March 10 speech for the National PTA Legislative Conference, despite addressing an audience of parents and educators right as schools and universities were starting to close amid the outbreak. “At least empathize. Or act like you can empathize even if you can’t!” Shanda Ross, vice president of the Georgia PTA, told the Washington Post. “But for there not to be any acknowledgment at all about it, I can truly say that was probably perceived as a slap in the face.” Melania also came under fire on March 7 for sharing photos on social media that celebrated the construction of the White House’s tennis pavilion—right as the outbreak gained steam and tornadoes ravaged Tennessee. (The First Lady has since started tweeting coronavirus guidance and advice, like telling Americans working from home to use their time “connect[ing] with loved ones” and “spending time on a hobby.”)
The failure thus far to use Melania’s “Be Best” campaign to respond to the coronavirus has also become a source of contention, given the initiative’s emphasis on children’s health and well-being. “I think this would be a great time to remind Americans about the ‘Be Best’ campaign,” Katherine Jellison, an expert on first ladies and history professor at Ohio University, told CNN. “She could remind the public, especially youngsters, that in times of stress, kind words to one another are a national duty.” More broadly, First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies author Kate Andersen Brower told CNN, the nonpartisan nature of the coronavirus pandemic makes it the key sort of national crisis in which a First Lady should be taking a more public-facing role. “[The coronavirus pandemic] is an anxiety-producing situation we’re faced with and the First Lady should see it as her job in this difficult time for the entire country to exude warmth, empathy, and to share helpful information with children and parents specifically in mind,” Andersen Brower said.