Is Melania Trump A Good First Lady? White House Lies About Her First Trip To Children’s Hospital In NYC

Melania Trump's visit to the Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center Thursday marked her first public solo trip as first lady, visiting the New York City children’s hospital located just minutes from her $100 million penthouse in Manhattan's Trump Towers.

Photographs from her reading session with children during World Book Day received praise across party lines as the photos spread across social media throughout the weekend.

That is, until several outlets noticed contrasting accounts of what Trump actually said during her visit to the medical center, as provided by the office of the first lady and pool reporters.

"We will read some books today. So do you know what is today? It’s a reading day," Melania Trump said Thursday, according to the pool report provided by multiple journalists from several news organizations. "Do you like the book? I will leave it here. I encourage you all to read a lot. To get educated."

The pool report doesn't offer any damning quotes from the first lady, or any controversial reason the American public should care about what exactly she said to several children at a hospital Thursday – except for the fact it was entirely different from what her press office reported from the trip.

According to the White House, Melania Trump was quoted saying, "loving to read early in life has the power to make each one of you a lifelong learner."

"Dr. Seuss has brought so much joy, laughter and enchantment into children's lives all around the globe for generations," Trump reportedly said. "Through his captivating rhymes, Dr. Seuss has delighted and inspired children while teaching them to read, to dream, and to care."

Melania Trump's statements Thursday were much more official, comprehensive and detail-oriented than what several pool reporters documented, according to her office’s reports.

"The First Lady emphasized that as a Nation, we must instill in young readers a lifelong love of learning," a press release provided by the office of the first lady continued. "'Education is a great equalizer and nothing can be more critical to achieving empowerment than reading and literacy,' said Mrs. Trump."

It was unclear which report accurately described Melania Trump's visit to the children’s hospital, though it wouldn’t be the first time the first lady was clouded in controversy surrounding her own words.

Trump received a bevy of criticism during the 2016 presidential campaign, when her speech during the Republican National Convention plagiarized several portions of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.