First Lady Melania Trump traveled to Jefferson, North Carolina, on Tuesday, landing at Ashe County Airport before visiting Mountain View Elementary School to deliver AI literacy training licenses and robotics learning kits to students in the storm-battered county.
The donations were made as part of Mrs. Trump’s BE BEST Fostering the Future initiative, aimed at expanding access to technology education. Ashe County was among the hardest-hit areas when Hurricane Helene tore through western North Carolina in September 2024, and the visit was framed around the community’s recovery.
Mrs. Trump spoke directly to students at the school, telling them the tools she brought were meant to open doors beyond the disaster that upended their community two years ago.
“Knowledge gives everyone in this town the chance to move beyond Helene and to imagine new possibilities,” Mrs. Trump told students. “It gives the next generation the choice to help create a beautiful world in the future—a better America. That is the lasting spirit of America. We may face hard times, but we do not fail. We choose to grow like a rare young flower pushing through the cold earth after a storm.”
Photos from the visit show the First Lady greeting and embracing students in the classroom as school officials looked on, with staff highlighting how the technology donations would be integrated into daily instruction.
Mrs. Trump wore a green Nour Hammour leather jacket over an ivory ribbed sweater and pinstriped pencil skirt by Adam Lippes, who also designed her inaugural outfit, along with green python Manolo Blahnik pumps for the trip.
