First lady Melania Trump speaks on her initiatives during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House. Photo / AP
It's the moment the world was waiting for: Melania Trump stepped out of husband Donald's shadow to take control of her own story.
But First Lady's broad plan to help children and clunky "Be Best" campaign slogan left onlookers scratching their heads.
The 48-year-old staged a rare news conference in the White House Rose Garden to launch an initiative designed to help kids across three main areas β wellbeing, social media and opioid abuse, the latter one of her husband's key priorities.
"It concerns me that in today's fast-paced and ever-connected world, children can be less prepared to express or manage their emotions and often times turn to forms of destructive or addictive behavior such as bullying, drug addiction or even suicide," she said. "I feel strongly that as adults, we can and should 'be best' at educating our children about the importance of a healthy and balanced life."
Social media users were quick to spot some issues, particularly with the awkward grammatical structure of her slogan.
everyone in the media rn trying to figure out what "be best" means
— Rachel Witkin (@rachel_witkin) May 7, 2018
"Please tell me I'm not the only one witnessing Melania's speech on her campaign against child bullying dubbed 'Be Best'. Which means... what?" tweeted author Carly Fisher.
"'Be Best' isn't even a good campaign name, aside from the blatant hypocrisy of an anti-bullying campaign coming from the wife of the biggest bully in America. The phrase 'Be Best'" doesn't even make sense," said Kevin Allred.
"'Be Best' is a great name for an initiative. I love how clear and grammatically correct it is," added Tara Ariano.
Others noticed that the website for the campaign did not appear to be working.
Mrs Trump has been criticised in the past for speaking out about cyber-bullying in light of the President's aggression and hurling of personal insults over Twitter.
But she has refused to be silent on the issue, despite reports she was advised to choose a different topic by the White House, inviting top tech company executives to visit her in Washington to talk about it.
After endless allegations of infidelity against her spouse, the First Lady today took to the podium to announce her public awareness campaign.
The appearance comes amid reports the couple are living separate lives, with their public appearances characterised by awkward moments in which Mrs Trump is seen flinching at her husband's touch.
It is a heartbreakingly different scenario from the early days of their relationship, when the pair seemed deeply in love, as one Australian photographer recalled to news.com.au last week.
Mrs Trump was said to have been devastated when the real estate mogul won the 2016 election. It took her five months to leave New York with their son Barron to live at the White House. Since then, she has cut a quiet figure, with her speeches and efforts to make a good impression at state events widely derided.
As accusations snowballed over Mr Trump's alleged affairs with a porn star and a Playboy model, Mrs Trump has looked increasingly grim, with the "Free Melania" meme refusing to go away.
The Trumps sleep in different bedrooms and have separate schedules. When news.com.au visited the White House to watch the pair's planned Marine One helicopter departure for Mar-a-Lago several weeks ago, Mrs Trump did not turn up. It was far from the only time she didn't travel with him.
Tomorrow is the day! Very excited to announce my initiatives. Tune in live at the @WhiteHouse at 3 PM!
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) May 6, 2018
While the President gets up at 5.30am to watch cable news and tweet, Mrs Trump rises later to dress their son Barron, 12, for school and ensure he has his homework, friends told The Washington Post.
White House staff members told the newspaper the First Lady has erected "a de facto wall" between her office in the East Wing and those of her husband and stepdaughter Ivanka in the West Wing. She is not believed to have a close relationship with Ivanka, who at 36 is closer to Mrs Trump in age than her husband.
The Trumps spend little time together and typically don't eat together, insiders claim β although the couple deny this, saying they are simply "independent".
When Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte visited the White House last week, France's first lady remarked on how an isolated Mrs Trump "can't go outside" and "can't do anything".
As the President's new lawyer Rudy Giuliani put his foot in it over the payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, he also described the move as necessary to save Mrs Trump "embarrassment and heartache."
But despite the humiliation for his wife, Mr Trump recently admitted on Fox & Friends that he had been too busy to buy her anything more than a card for her 48th birthday.
Against this backdrop, Mrs Trump has suddenly begun attending more high-profile events than at any time during her husband's tenure, appearing alone at Barbara Bush's funeral.
She is busily renovating her office but "seldom sets foot in the West Wing", according to an insider.
And at the very height of the furore over whether the President knew about a $130,000 payment to Ms Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, the First Lady took the rare step of calling her own news conference.
That moment when your wife resists holding your hand... PRICELESS. π€£π€£ @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/hDpPddTv5C
— BetsyBits (@BetsyBits) April 24, 2018
Well this is embarassing https://t.co/XaPL1AbCm5 pic.twitter.com/mumhuQHDFz
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) May 22, 2017
WATCH: President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump depart the White House on their way to Ohio pic.twitter.com/unoZ5xyEXN
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 5, 2018
Spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said Mrs Trump's focus would be on the overall wellbeing of children. The First Lady regularly visits hospitals and schools, recently turning the Blue Room at the White House into a mock classroom and inviting middle school students to share their hopes and dreams with her.
"This launch is meant to formalise what her role will be for the next three to seven years," said Ms Grisham.
The President's third wife reportedly regularly challenges her husband and dislikes several members of his staff β but he does not always take her advice.
So Mrs Trump has carved out her own path, being careful not to release statements at the same time as her spouse.
Mrs Trump β who signed a pre-nuptial agreement with Mr Trump before he won the presidency β has only ten members of staff, half the number who worked for Michelle Obama at the peak of her work in girls' education and healthy lifestyles for kids.
Barbara and Laura Bush focused on the fight against HIV and AIDS, while Hillary Clinton was a high-profile lawyer before running as a presidential candidate herself.
Mrs Trump, a former model from Slovenia, has always seemed less comfortable in her public role. She is not as politically inclined as her predecessors, but has reportedly been borrowing books from the White House library and trying to work out what she can achieve.
This could be her time to shine, with her approval rating reaching 47 per cent to the President's 40 per cent in a January CNN poll.
After battling constant criticism and the stress of dealing with her powerful and erratic husband, the First Lady now appears ready to surprise us.
It comes after the US recently struck nuclear sites in Iran.