Melania Trump calls for end to cyberbullying as president launches latest Twitter tirade

Impact

First lady Melania Trump invoked the compassionate nature of her “Be Best” campaign during a summit on Monday, calling for an end to cyberbullying just moments before her husband unleashed his latest Twitter tirade.

“Let’s face it, most children are more aware of the benefits and pitfalls of social media than some adults,” Melania Trump said during her remarks, which were delivered as part of a Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention session held at the Health Resources and Services Administration. “It can be used in many positive ways, but can also be destructive and harmful when used incorrectly.”

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump was back home in the White House railing against “disgraced and discredited” special counsel Robert Mueller and his “group of Angry Democrat Thugs” in the wake of news that the team of investigators charged with digging into potential Russian collusion in the 2016 election had spent some 30 hours interviewing White House counsel Don McGahn.

“Where’s the Collusion?” Trump tweeted Monday morning. “They made up a phony crime called collusion, and when there was no Collusion they said there was obstruction (of a phone crime that never existed).”

Hours later, he followed up with more, referring to former CIA Director John Brennan as the “worst CIA Director in our country’s history” after Brennan’s security clearance was revoked last week and calling the Department of Justice a “total joke!”

“I hope John Brennan, the worst CIA Director in our country’s history, brings a lawsuit,” Trump wrote. “It will then be very easy to get all of his records, texts, emails and documents to show not only the poor job he did, but how he was involved with the Mueller Rigged Witch Hunt. He won’t sue!”

Trump’s morning Twitter tirades have become a signature element of his presidency. The frequent targeting of his colleagues, celebrities and everyday Americans has encouraged many to point out the irony of his wife’s anti-bullying crusade.

Melania Trump herself appeared to acknowledge the tension between her platform encouraging cyber-compassion and her husband’s proclivity toward rabble-rousing during a separate panel she participated in March.

“I am well aware that people are skeptical of me discussing this topic,” she said at the time. “I have been criticized for my commitment to tackling this issue, and I know that will continue. But it will not stop me from doing what I know is right. I am here with one goal: helping children and our next generation.”