Melania makes rare policy appearance, touts women's health initiative as Trump calls it 'historic'

Melania Trump, wife of US President Donald Trump [Getty Images]

Melania Trump, often described as a reclusive first lady, made an unusual foray into policy by personally announcing a new women's health initiative from the White House — a move analysts say was partly timed to the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Melania attended a public event in the White House Rose Garden on Monday (local time) and announced the Donald Trump administration's new policy on advancing women's health, The New York Times reported, citing Yonhap.

The appearance came as Donald Trump has struggled to win over female voters with the midterms just two weeks away, the Times noted.

Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing an Office of Women's Health within the National Institutes of Health, along with a separate women's health TF inside the White House, according to the report.

"Starting today, we will change the reality of women's health," Melania said at the event. "Previous generations fought for women's rights, and our generation will fight to find treatments so that women can live their lives fully and in good health."

Donald Trump then took the floor, calling the initiative a "historic measure" and praising Melania's efforts.

He also lent his weight to the policy, saying he had asked Melania whether such an office truly did not exist.

The White House announcement came just under two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

A recent poll by The Associated Press and the University of Chicago's NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that roughly one-third of female voters approve of Donald Trump's job performance. Women were also more likely than men to identify healthcare as a key issue in the upcoming elections.

Melania also took on first lady duties at US-China summit

Melania also played a supporting role in September when Donald Trump held a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Melania and Peng Liyuan, the spouses of the two leaders, held a separate social engagement together on the sidelines, Yonhap reported at the time.

After a White House welcoming ceremony, the two first ladies visited the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C., where they toured the Peacock Room, which features an exhibition of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, among other works.

The Peacock Room, decorated in gold, blue and green with a peacock motif, features a painting by American artist James McNeill Whistler depicting two peacocks in combat — a symbol of the clash between art and money.

The two first ladies also viewed Whistler's "The Princess from the Land of Porcelain," a painting of a woman in a kimono holding a fan. Melania was heard exclaiming "beautiful and amazing" after listening to a docent's explanation of the works, according to the White House press pool.

The two first ladies then met students waiting on the museum's entrance steps. About 36 students aged 8 to 15 from Hope Chinese School, a Chinese-language education institution in the Washington, D.C., area, dressed in blue and white and waved the flags of both countries as they sang two songs. Melania smiled and clapped at the end of each song, calling out "Bravo."

Melania had not accompanied Donald Trump on his visit to China last May.

yul@heraldcorp.com