Former FLOTUS Melania Trump Once Said She Was the 'Most Bullied Person in the World'

Former First Lady Melania Trump is no stranger to bullying. During an interview in 2018, the 53-year-old opened up on the realities of being the First Lady and referred to herself as the 'most bullied person in the world.' While discussing her Be Best campaign, she acknowledged the challenges associated with her role, like public humiliation and its negative impact. 

The Slovenian-American former model talked about being trolled incessantly as well as her public awareness initiative during a sit-down. She revealed to ABC News' Chief National Affairs Correspondent Tom Llamas how being the victim [of bullying] herself inspired her to incorporate social media abuse into her youth-focused Be Best campaign. "I could say that I'm the most bullied person in the world," claimed the former first lady.

Llamas exclaimed, "You're really the most bullied person in the world? She responded, "One of them," adding, "If you really see what people are saying about me." Llamas then asked, "You are an adult. You say you are strong. Have you thought about what would this do to a child? To my son? To other children?" Trump explained, "That's why, you know, my Be Best initiative is focusing on social media and online behavior."

Trump also emphasized the importance of teaching children how to deal with others in today's digitized world: "We need to educate the children of social-emotional behavior, so when they grow up, they know how to deal with those issues. That's very important." 

It is no secret that despite being the former FLOTUS, Trump still gets frequently hectored. In fact, she was also trolled and criticized online after launching the Be Best campaign, as reported by Yahoo. In yet another such incident, she was trolled by fans of the adult star Stormy Daniels following Donald Trump's indictment. After the former President was indicted in the hush money case, people cornered Melania with unpleasant remarks regarding her husband's alleged affair with Daniels, as per The U.S. Sun.

However, the former FLOTUS expressed her grievances about the public scrutiny of the Trump family. She said, "It's harder to govern. You always need to watch your back." Her communications director, Stephanie Grisham, clarified, "Her [Melania's] point was that people can be very cruel online," per The New York Times. "So, it's through 'Be Best' that she hopes to educate children and provide tools to help them cope with dangerous online behavior," said Grisham. 

Having said that, despite her efforts to help children fight online abuse, many could not help but point out the campaign was in contradiction to what Melania's husband usually 'stands' for. The Republican frontrunner is infamous for his sly digs and inflammatory rhetorics, and Donald often lands himself in controversies for passing disdainful remarks about his political rivals, including 'inappropriate' comments about women around him. 

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on November 1, 2023. It has since been updated.