President Donald Trump also praised the first lady for her accomplishments, saying she might be "a little too big for the White House"
NEED TO KNOW
- During a Women’s History Month event at the White House on Thursday, March 12, first lady Melania Trump sang her own praises, calling herself a “visionary”
- “Often alone at the top, I follow my passion, listen to my instinct, and always maintain a laser focus,” she said during her remarks
- When concluding her speech, she left the nation’s women with words of advice: “Be courageous and take risks”
First lady Melania Trump gave herself kudos during a White House Women’s History Month event, calling herself a “visionary.”
With husband President Donald Trump looking on, the first lady sang her own praises, listing off a few of her accomplishments — including the recent self-titled documentary Melania.
“As a visionary, I know success is not born overnight, but rather takes shape after a long and sometimes challenging process," the first lady, 55, said during the Thursday, March 12, event. "Often alone at the top, I follow my passion, listen to my instinct, and always maintain a laser focus."
“In solitude, my creative mind dances, filling my imagination with originality. Attention to detail, demanding schedules, and multi-tasking are everyday realities when building towards success,” she continued. “That principle resonates across all my roles, as a mother, humanitarian, philanthropist and entrepreneur as well as with my new film where I shaped its creative direction, served as a producer, managed post production and activated the marketing campaign.”
Melania, which first hit theaters on Jan. 30 and depicted the 20 days leading up to the president’s second inauguration, got an 11% approval rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes as of Friday, March 13, up slightly from its previous 8% rating.
The general audience seemed to have enjoyed the documentary more, with 98% of verified Rotten Tomatoes users rating the film positively. (The number plummets to 32% approval when you incorporate unverified ratings.) The divide marks the movie review site’s biggest critic versus audience split in history, a spokesperson for Rotten Tomatoes previously told PEOPLE.
The first lady went on to say, "Curiosity is a core value that keeps me ahead of the curve,” adding her belief that “curiosity begets knowledge.”
Before turning the podium over to the president, she had brief parting words for the women of America, saying, “To all of the young women, entrepreneurs and future leaders: Make time for yourself, educate yourself daily and spread your passion."
She added: "Be courageous and take risks, advance your profession through inspiration, be a bold chief executive while keeping your family, if you choose so, at the center of your nation's future."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
When the president took the podium, he continued to applaud his wife, saying she had maybe even become too much of a big shot for the White House.
“She’s terrific and a big success…,” Trump, 79, said about his wife. “I don’t know, maybe she’s getting a little too big for the White House so I have to think about it.”
After congratulating the first lady, Trump addressed his speech to all the women of the nation, saying, “We love women. Women are the whole deal, okay?”
Read the full article here
