In less than 48 hours, Donald Trump will conclude his presidency with one final trip aboard Air Force One to Florida with his wife Melania. Their departure will occur in the morning of Jan. 20, ensuring they will forego the long-standing tradition of welcoming the incoming president and their partner to the White House. Trump will also become the only president in modern history to not attend their successor’s inauguration, according to HuffPost.
Despite breaking from a number of norms, Melania stuck to delivering a farewell address, which was posted on the @FLOTUS Twitter account.
Melania expressed her gratitude for those in the military, as well as frontline and essential workers in wake of the pandemic. She instructed Americans to practice "caution and common sense" as the country continues to deal with a staggering number of daily COVID-19 cases, even as the vaccine endures a slower than expected rollout.
While she doesn't address the riots at the Capitol earlier this month, Melania appears to broach the subject when saying "violence is never the answer and will never be justified." She spends the latter portion of her speech talking about her "Be Best" initiative, which focused on helping children as it pertains to their well-being, online safety, and opioid abuse.
"I ask every American to be an ambassador of Be Best," she said. "To focus on what unites us. To rise above what divides us. To always choose love over hatred, peace over violence, and others before yourself."
Melania exits as First Lady with her lowest favorability rating, according to a new CNN poll. At 47 percent, she's slightly higher than Donald, who sits at 42 percent. Her favorability rating reached its peak in May 2018 (57 percent) after she was spotted attending the funeral of late First Lady Barbara Bush without her husband.
