Care packages and cardstock turkeys: first and second ladies visit Marines and their relatives

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. (AP) — Melania Trump and Usha Vance took their first trip together on Wednesday, visiting Marine Corps members and their relatives in North Carolina to mark the approach of Thanksgiving and salute military families, which the first lady called “the quiet strength of our nation.”

The wives of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, a former Marine, visited schools at Camp Lejeune, the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast, before delivering remarks to some 1,600 uniformed, cheering Marines and their families at Marine Corps Air Station New River.

“Please know that our nation is thinking of you, praying for you and deeply grateful for your service,” Trump said of all military service members stationed far from home during the holidays, speaking from a stage flanked by parked tanks and helicopters.

Trump stressed the growing importance of artificial intelligence to the military, noting that “technology is changing the art of war.”

“Predictably, AI will alter war more profoundly than any technology since nuclear weapons,” she said, also noting that “we are moving from human operators to human overseers fast.”

Trump and Vance both saluted the Marines for the branch’s recent 250th anniversary, and the second lady said that “military families are truly a model for our country and for my own family.”

Brigadier General Ralph J. Rizzo Jr, said of the joint visit: “Those moments matter because they show our families their service and sacrifices are seen and appreciated.”

Trump and Vance’s speeches followed them discussing AI with high schoolers and helping younger children make turkeys out of cardstock — surrounded by Elmer’s glue and glue sticks.

They watched an advanced placement research class from the Lejeune High “Devilpups,” recalling the Marine Corps’ “Devil Dog” nickname, and had discussions about technological development.

Trump and Vance sat with four tables of students with laptops. They listened to a student presentation on electronic media affecting sleep and adolescent wellbeing, as well as a study on social media addiction and its impact on young people’s esteem and body image.

The students demonstrated how they used AI to generate videos as part of their presentation. The first lady asked one group how they used AI in school, and nodded along as they chatted. The students also described rules that kept them from using AI to improperly complete assignments.

Trump and Vance later visited a gymnasium, where the school was assembling 2,000 care packages for service members stationed abroad — filled with goodies including jerky sticks. The first lady told the crowd there that she and the president always think of U.S. service members but “especially during the holidays.”

Trump and Vance also toured two kindergarten classes and a first grade class at DeLalio Elementary School, entering classrooms where each table had been laid with folders from Be Best, Trump’s child-focused initiative. The folders featured a puzzle, pen, and sticker for each student.

Trump told one of the girls she was “beautiful.” The youngster had a patriotic ribbon pinned to her light blue top, meaning one of her parents is on active deployment.

The first lady asked another a question, before declaring, “’Isn’t it fun?” She engaged in a long conversation with another girl before offering, “Very nice. I love your story.”

Later, sitting at tables with the youngsters, Trump commanded, “Show me how you play.” Several of the kindergartners and first graders wore ribbons signifying a deployed parent — as did many in the larger group of students later making turkeys with the first and second ladies.

Both have appeared together at other public events, though not on the road. Most notably, they were together at the inauguration of their husbands at the U.S. Capitol in January.

Other joint appearances came at a White House event celebrating military mothers and a luncheon for Senate spouses, both in May; the opening night of “Les Misérables” at the Kennedy Center in June; and the president’s signing last week of an executive order to help foster children, which also came as part of Be Best.

Melania Trump has centered her work around children, launching Be Best during her husband’s first term to focus on their welfare, online safety and opioid abuse.

Last month, she announced that eight children displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war had been reunited with their families following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier this year, the first lady helped lobby Congress to pass legislation imposing federal penalties for online sexual exploitation, often targeting young girls. Her husband signed the bill into law in May.

Usha Vance, a former lawyer, launched a “Summer Reading Challenge” to encourage students in kindergarten through eighth grade to read 12 books during the school break. Certificates and prizes were promised to those who completed the challenge.

The second lady often accompanies the vice president on his trips and sometimes brings along their three young children.