Spectacular Photos – First Lady Melania Trump in Africa

First Lady Melania Trump walks with children as she visits the Nest Childrens Home Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. Saul Loeb / AFP

Melania Trump took part in a baby elephant feeding on Friday as she visited a national park in Kenya to highlight conservation efforts. The US First Lady is on a four-leg tour of Africa promoting her children’s welfare programme. Kenya was the third stop on her Africa tour, which began Tuesday in Ghana and continued in Malawi on Thursday. Her first-ever visit to Africa is also her first extended solo international trip as first lady in what some see as ‘fence-mending’. She took part in a quick safari later on Friday. Egypt was her final stop of the continent that focuses on child welfare, education, tourism and conservation.

US First Lady Melania Trump goes on a safari with Nelly Palmeris, right, Park Manager, at the Nairobi National Park. Saul Loeb / AFP

 

US First Lady Melania Trump waves to children at the Chipala Primary School in Lilongwe in Malawi. Saul Loeb / AFP

 

US First Lady Melania Trump receives flowers from a young girl alongside the First Lady of Malawi, Gertrude Mutharika, as she arrives at Lilongwe International Airport.

 

First Lady Melania Trump visits the Giza Pyramids on Oct. 6

 

First lady Melania Trump visits with mothers and their babies at Greater Accra Regional Hospital in Accra, Ghana, Oct. 2, 2018.
First lady Melania Trump in Ghana. She was later presented with gifts by Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II, the chieftain of the Cape Coast Fante, during a cultural ceremony at the Emintsimadze Palace in Cape Coast, Ghana, on Oct. 3, 2018. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

On Africa Trip, First Lady Reveals a Trump-like Side

Melania Trump in Egypt on Saturday. Her trip, she said, was meant to “show the world that we care.” (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

By Katie Rogers (Culled from New York Times)

CAIRO — Back home, Washington was in turmoil, but the first lady had something on her mind.

On one of the most consequential days of her husband’s embattled presidency, as the Senate approved his controversial choice for the Supreme Court, Melania Trump traveled to the edge of this sand-colored city and posed before the Great Sphinx, one hand in the pocket of her men’s-wear-inspired ensemble. Standing with her back against the enigmatic monument, the equally enigmatic first lady did something unusual: She spoke up for herself.

“I wish people would focus on what I do,” an exasperated Mrs. Trump said in rare comments to reporters, “not what I wear.”

Then came the fashion show.

Dressed in a tan blazer, a white shirt and black tie, and palazzo pants, Mrs. Trump stood in the wind against the desertscape. As dancers performed and music played, she adjusted her jacket (Ralph Lauren), pulled her hat (Chanel) down over her eyes, and ensured that every angle was captured as her tour through Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt came to a close on Saturday.

It was a striking moment for a first lady who, perhaps more than any other in modern times, has been happy to be a walking contradiction. It also felt like a message to old acquaintances who have boxed her out of her glamorous past life because of their opposition to her husband. Stormy Daniels may get an embrace from Anna Wintour, but Mrs. Trump still has the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Since she moved to Washington, the capital has been transfixed by the distance Mrs. Trump appears to put between herself and her husband. When she managed to put some real distance between them — an ocean — by going to Africa, many observed that she seemed to blossom.

But the trip also served to show just how much the two have in common.

Like the president, Mrs. Trump has eschewed long-held American ideas of how those who make the White House home ought to conduct themselves. And like him, Mrs. Trump is comfortable showing the world that she does not know what she does not know — and that she does not necessarily need to find out.

The president, for his part, said he was pleased with what he saw.

“The first lady did a tremendous job representing our country in Africa — like no one has before,” he said in a statement on Sunday. “She got to know firsthand the people of Africa, and they loved and respected her everywhere she went. Melania told me about her trip in great detail, and I’m so proud of the job she’s doing on behalf of children everywhere. She works so hard, and does it all out of love.”

Still, it was hard to overlook the disconnect between the good will Mrs. Trump exuded on her trip and the Trump administration’s hard-edge approach to foreign aid.

Her visit to Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, came as her husband’s administration moves to cut funding to the United States Agency for International Development by at least 30 percent. The administration has also called for the elimination of basic education funding for Malawi, according to the One Campaign, which fights poverty. Those budget proposals have drawn bipartisan opposition in Congress.

Mrs. Trump, who donated 1.4 million dual-language textbooks to children in Malawi, was asked by a reporter later if she intended to go home and ask the president about more funding for the aid agency. She seemed to ponder the question.

“We are having funding,” Mrs. Trump said as she fielded questions at the Sphinx. “So we are helping the countries, and we are working hard for helping them, and we will continue to help.”

Mrs. Trump also made clear that if there is indeed a secret “resistance” in the White House, she is not part of it. Asked about the #MeToo movement and the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, she delivered what appeared to be a rehearsed response: She said she was glad both he and his accuser — a woman whose account Mr. Trump publicly mocked — had been heard.

“We need to help all of the victims no matter what kind of abuse they had,” she said. “I am against any kind of abuse or violence.”

Mrs. Trump also appeared to anticipate a question on reports that her husband had maligned African countries and Haiti, adopting White House parlance to dismiss those stories for being anonymously sourced.

US First Lady Melania Trump has visited a hospital in Ghana’s capital, Accra, at the start of her solo trip that will see her visit four African countries.

Mrs. Trump said she wanted the world to know what she did in Africa. She highlighted the work the American foreign aid agency is doing on the continent, as well as of her child-focused “Be Best” platform.

The East Wing handed out school supplies to children who had none, tote bags to teachers who needed them, and teddy bears to babies who had been abused or abandoned. Mrs. Trump held hands with orphans, cuddled babies, stroked baby elephants and greeted several African first ladies and the Egyptian president with warm smiles. The White House produced several videos of Mrs. Trump at each stop.

When asked what message she wanted to send on behalf of her husband’s administration, the first lady said her trip was meant to “show the world that we care.”

Advocacy groups say they are hopeful the visit will end up having been more than just photo opportunities.

“We hope the first lady will talk to the president about what she’s seen in Africa,” said Tom Hart, the executive director for North America at the One Campaign. “How America’s generosity saves lives, lifts people out of poverty and makes our nation a beacon of hope to millions around the world — and we hope the president’s upcoming budget proposal contains full funding for these programs.”

As always, Mrs. Trump was unable to avoid criticism on her trip. Reports of her decision to wear a white pith helmet — a symbol of British colonial rule — in Kenya visibly frustrated her.

Others urged that Mrs. Trump be given some leeway as she stakes out an unconventional approach to her role.

“She started that on Day 1, when she announced she wasn’t going to be moving to the White House right away,” said Anita McBride, who was Laura Bush’s chief of staff. “People are not used to seeing the light of day between a president and first lady, but by occasionally doing that, she demonstrates she is her own person. And he praises her for it.”

Indeed, shortly before departing for her flight home, Mrs. Trump again declared her independence from her husband. Or at least his Twitter account.

“I don’t always agree what he tweets, and I tell him that,” she said.

Sometimes, she said, she even asks the president to put down his phone.

“I have my own voice and my opinions,” she said, “and it’s very important to me that I express how I feel.”

Cory Booker says Kavanaugh impeachment shouldn’t be off the table

DES MOINES, Iowa — New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said on Sunday the possibility of impeaching Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh shouldn’t be off the table if Democrats take one of the houses of Congress in next month’s midterm elections. Kavanaugh was confirmed on Saturday by a narrow vote following a contentious process that included multiple sexual assault allegations.

Other Democrats have raised the possibility of impeaching Kavanaugh over allegations that he committed perjury in his hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee, on which Booker sits. News accounts have quoted acquaintances who contradict Kavanaugh’s testimony about his behavior as a young man, and evidence has surfaced calling into question some of his assertions about his time in the George W. Bush administration, but Kavanaugh insists he told the truth. Impeachment would require the Democrats to win a House majority and control that chamber’s judiciary committee. The question would then go to trial in the Senate.

“The reality is, right now, Republicans control the House and the Senate, and there’s no way to do even an investigation unless we flip one of the houses. So I think even before you start focusing on questions about his truthfulness before a Senate committee, you’ve got to focus on the urgency of the work over the next 30 days, and that’s where my focus is,” Booker said.

Booker spoke to Yahoo in Iowa, where he is making multiple campaign appearances in support of Democratic congressional candidates. He said he is working to help secure a Democratic majority. After the midterms, Booker said, the party can determine what its priorities should be.

“I think that after the dust settles on the night of the 6th, I think that’s where we start to evaluate … what is the best thing for us to be focusing on in terms of what’s best for America and the American people,” Booker said.

Booker’s emphasis on the midterms echoed a speech he made at the Iowa Democratic Party’s fall gala Saturday night after his arrival in the state was delayed by the Kavanaugh vote on the Senate floor. In those remarks, Booker struck a hopeful note and urged Democrats who are “angry” and “upset” to “stay faithful.” He also cautioned members of the party against being “caught up in a state of sedentary agitation” and urged them “not to wait for the hope, but to be the hope.” In one of his calls to electoral action, Booker referenced comments President Trump made last week mocking one of Kavanaugh’s accusers, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

Cory Booker and fellow Democrat Kamala Harris of California listen to Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Pool/Getty Images)

“We’re not defined by a president who mocks a hero in Dr. Blasey Ford. We’re not defined by a president who does not believe women. We’re going to be defined when this state says not only do we believe women, we elect women!” Booker said.

The bar for impeachment is very high, and it has happened to a sitting Supreme Court justice only once in American history. Impeachment requires a House vote. If a majority of House members vote to impeach, the Senate holds a trial to weigh the charges. Conviction and removal from office requires a 67-vote supermajority in the Senate.

Democrats have a strong chance of taking the House in the midterms. Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, who would most likely become chair of the House Judiciary Committee if the Democrats have a majority, has said he supports the idea of investigating Kavanaugh for perjury, which could begin an impeachment process. However, Democrats have much slimmer chances of taking control of the Senate, and there is no way they will come close to 67 seats.

The perjury allegations against Kavanaugh come from three things: his denials of all the sexual assault accusations levied against him, his claims about his youthful drinking and evidence that he lied under oath during prior confirmation hearings.

During his Supreme Court confirmation testimony, which was under penalty of perjury, Kavanaugh said he “never blacked out” while drinking as a young man. Since then, multiple people who knew Kavanaugh in college have come forward to say they witnessed Kavanaugh “stumbling drunk.”

The allegations about previous perjury by Kavanaugh emerged based on emails from his time working on President George W. Bush’s White House staff that were released as part of his Supreme Court confirmation process. Those messages indicate Kavanaugh had received Democratic strategy memos that had been stolen in the early 2000s. In confirmation hearings held in 2004 and 2006 when Kavanaugh was nominated to federal judgeships, he denied receiving those memos.

Supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. (Photo: Saul Loeb/Pool/AP)

An FBI investigation into the sexual assault allegations was authorized by the White House after the Republican leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee requested it. The White House limited the scope of the investigation and insisted that it be completed in seven days; the FBI ultimately finished after five days.

Republicans have called the FBI investigation a thorough exoneration. Booker, who read the FBI’s full report on the probe, said it was unsatisfactory.

“I think the way the FBI was limited in their investigation was a sham. There were so many things even in the handful of interviews they did do that would have motivated investigators to ask more questions, interview more people,” Booker said. “Clearly the FBI was severely constrained in the scope of their investigation in a way that did not honor the courage of the survivors who came forward.”

Booker noted that the FBI did not interview “multiple people” named by one of Kavanaugh’s accusers, Deborah Ramirez, as able to corroborate her claims that Kavanaugh had exposed himself to her at a party when they were both students at Yale. Booker said there were “a number of things that the FBI could have easily investigated to see if he was lying about his past conduct.”

He said he supported further investigation of Kavanaugh.

“If there is conclusory evidence that shows unequivocally that he lied to a Senate committee, that is a crime and he should be held accountable for those criminal acts,” Booker said.

Booker has made campaign appearances around the country during this election cycle. However, Iowa holds unique importance as an early presidential primary state, and this trip was Booker’s first visit to the state during this cycle. Booker’s appearance here fueled speculation he might mount a White House bid in 2020. Yahoo News asked Booker if he would support renominating President Barack Obama’s last Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, who was blocked by Republicans. Booker brushed off the question about presidential politics.

“That’s a speculative hypothetical,” Booker said. “I can’t even engage with it. The reality is, I’m the senator from New Jersey. With 30 days before the election, my focus is the work before us.”

Eminent Nigerians applaud ex-VP over victory

From left: Govs. Sam Ortom of Benue; Patrick Okowa of elta; PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus and others at the National Convention of PDP in Port Harcourt on Saturday . With him are other National Executive Committee members of the party.

The social media yesterday went agog following the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Eminent Nigerians, especially members of the opposition have continued to congratulate him for clinching the party’s ticket to contest against President Muhammadu Buhari in next year’s presidential election.

Senate President Bukola Saraki in his verified twitter handle @bukolasaraki said: “We always knew that only one candidate would emerge. On behalf of all the aspirants, I want to assure Atiku Abubakar that we will work with him to ensure that come 2019, he emerges as Nigeria’s next President.

“I congratulate our presidential candidate, Atiku for your victory. You have stayed on course over the years and truly, you deserve this victory.”

Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, noted that the task ahead is to unite with other aspirants to work towards the success of the party in the 2019 elections.

He said: “Congratulations to Atiku on his emergence as the official PDP presidential candidate. I am hopeful that come February 2019, PDP will lead Nigeria to the transformation that we so dearly desire as citizens of this great country.”

Gombe State Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo, assured that they would support Atiku for the party’s victory in 2019.

He said: “Congratulations to Atiku on his emergence as the flag bearer of our great party. We are united under one umbrella and we will work assiduously for our party’s victory in 2019.”

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike said, “I want to congratulate Atiku for emerging victorious in the PDP Convention. You have not missed an opportunity to prove how much of a unifier you are. The Rivers State government and its entire people shall throw our weight behind you.”

Festus Keyamo said, “We welcome Atiku Abubakar to the 2019 campaign trail. Nigerians would now decide between a candidate with a history full of credibility crises, damning reports of corruption home, abroad and another candidate with an unblemished record in public service.”

Former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, while congratulating Atiku, however called on President Buhari’s wife to defect to the PDP.

Ex-VP Abubakar named opposition challenger to Nigeria’s president

Former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar

Atiku Abubakar won a primary race to become the main opposition challenger to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in elections next year, results showed on Sunday.

PORT HARCOURT: Atiku Abubakar won a primary race to become the main opposition challenger to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in elections next year, results showed on Sunday.

Abubakar, a former vice president, will stand as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate. At a party convention on Saturday, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) picked Buhari, who took office in 2015, for the February vote. The handling of the economy has already emerged as a major issue at the start of the election cycle in Africa’s top oil producer, which also plays a key role in regional wars against Islamist insurgents.

Nigeria entered its first recession in 25 years in 2016, mainly caused by lower oil prices and attacks in the Niger Delta crude producing region. It emerged from recession early last year but growth remains sluggish and inflation has remained high, above the central bank’s single digit target range.

Abubakar, 71, was selected in the PDP’s primary election after the party held a convention in the southern city of Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta oil production heartland.

See how this elephant charged at Melania Trump during her ‘Be Best’ tour of Africa

First lady Melania Trump was almost knocked down by a baby elephant on Friday while on safari in Nairobi National Park in Kenya. As she was visiting with and feeding baby elephants, one of them charged at her. The elephant seemed to come at her in a playful way, however, and after momentarily losing her balance, Trump laughed off the brief incident. Stephanie Grisham, Trump’s spokeswoman, told Business Insider the first lady was not injured by the elephant and that she “enjoyed the visit so much.”

Trump is on her first extended solo trip abroad as first lady. The first lady began her trip in Ghana and then visited Malawi before heading to Kenya. The trip is part of her “Be Best” initiative, which focuses on improving the lives of children. Trump on Friday also met with Kenyan first lady Margaret Kenyatta for tea and visited with orphans, dancing with them as they guided her into the orphanage they live in known as The Nest.  President Donald Trump tweeted about Melania’s big trip on Thursday, stating, “Our country’s great First Lady, Melania, is doing really well in Africa. The people love her, and she loves them! It is a beautiful thing to see.”

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