NEW YORK / OSLO (Dagbladet): US First Lady Melania Trump chaired a meeting of the United Nations Security Council Monday evening, Norwegian time. The White House has stated the meeting underscored “the role education has in fostering tolerance and world peace,” with the overarching theme being “children, technology and education in conflict areas.”
Dagbladet is present at UN headquarters in New York. Mrs. Trump arrived at the location at approximately 8:40 p.m. Norwegian time, smiling at the assembled press but declining to answer questions.
She then posed for photographs with Security Council delegates, including Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya, US UN Ambassador Mike Waltz, and Chinese UN Ambassador Fu Cong.
One individual among the journalists shouted, “We love you, Melania,” as the First Lady arrived.
Although previous First Ladies, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, held influential positions within the UN, none have chaired Council meetings while in office. The Security Council’s primary responsibility is the maintenance of international peace and security. Typically, Security Council meetings are led by a UN Ambassador from the member state holding the presidency, or a high-ranking cabinet official.
The First Lady’s chairing of the Council is linked to Rule 18 of the Council’s rules of procedure, which stipulates that the presidency of the Security Council rotates monthly among the Council’s 15 members, in alphabetical order by country name. The United States holds the presidency for March.
“When President Donald Trump’s wife takes her place in the president’s chair on Monday, it will be the first time a First Lady, or for that matter, First Gentleman, has ever chaired a Security Council meeting,” UN Security Council spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric stated to the press, according to the Associated Press.
The First Lady’s appearance at the Security Council comes shortly after the United States, alongside Israel, launched attacks on Iran. The conflict is now in its third day, with Iranian missile attacks continuing against Israel and several Arab neighboring countries. Israeli authorities report at least eleven deaths, while the Iranian Red Crescent reports 555 deaths in Iran, according to CBS News.
The move likewise occurs against a backdrop of strained relations between the US administration and the UN. President Trump has repeatedly criticized the organization, stating it does not live up to its potential, and has withdrawn the US from several bodies, including the World Health Organization and UNESCO.
The UN also claims the US owes it nearly four billion dollars. In January, President Trump announced the creation of a separate peace council, prompting warnings that it was an attempt to sideline the UN Security Council.
“Why on earth is Melania Trump chairing a meeting of the UN Security Council?” asked Arwa Mahdawi, a journalist for The Guardian, in a recent column. “It cannot be stressed enough that this is highly unusual,” she added, noting that previously, one had to meet certain qualifications to lead the Security Council.
Mahdawi wrote that the current situation reflects a “WTF economy,” characterized by a massive technology-driven future. “Melania is a Trump and therefore automatically qualified to do whatever her heart desires,” she stated.
Mahdawi questioned why Mrs. Trump’s heart desired this particular role, noting her previous focus on areas like cryptocurrency, coffee table books, and film screenings, as well as her stated interest in technology for children and children in conflict zones. However, she also observed that the First Lady has maintained a relatively low profile and has not appeared particularly enthusiastic about public service or multilateralism.
Previously, Mrs. Trump has identified children in conflict as a key focus of her work. Prior to a meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last year, she wrote a letter to Putin urging peace in Ukraine and appealing to him to consider the children and “an innocence that transcends geography, governance and ideology.”
“By protecting these children’s innocence, you will do more than serve Russia alone – you will serve humanity itself,” she wrote. In February, a Russian high-ranking official reported that the First Lady had helped secure the release of five Ukrainian and one Russian children allegedly abducted by Russia, according to CNN.
USA-expert and Civita advisor Eirik Løkke stated that, in a broader perspective, it is striking that the president’s wife should chair such a meeting. “But with Donald Trump as president, one gets used to him not doing things the way they have been done before. It would have been striking if other presidents had done something similar. This is typical Trump,” Løkke told Dagbladet.
Løkke also noted that it is common for a president’s wife to find areas she wishes to highlight. “She has previously advocated for Ukrainian children stolen by Russia. And the Trump administration apparently believes this is an area it is okay to profile.
