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CAIRE – The visual was striking – Melania Trump was standing in front of the great sphinx of Egypt, doing something she rarely does: talking about the news of the day.
Journalists traveling with her as she crisscrossed Africa last week asked her news of Supreme Court President Brett M. Kavanaugh's confirmation of candidacy and Christine Blasey Ford's allegations had sexually assaulted.
"I'm glad Dr. Ford has been heard," said the first lady. "I am pleased that Judge Kavanaugh has been heard, that an FBI investigation has been conducted, that it is over and that [the] The Senate voted.
She spoke of victims of sexual assault who spoke, with a note much more comprehensive than President Trump, who made fun of Ford. "We must help all victims, no matter what kind of violence they have suffered," she said. "I am against any form of abuse."
The first lady, who so often resembles a sphinx, and who has often been silent in the midst of the din of her husband's administration, was exceptionally frank.
"I do not always agree with what he tweets and I tell him. I give him my opinion and my honest advice. Sometimes he listens, sometimes no. I have my own voice and opinions and it's very important for me to express how I feel. "
When asked if she had ever asked her to put down her phone, she replied, "Yes!
As she was about to end her trip, she also lamented the fact that social media mocked the bone marrow helmet she was wearing in Kenya – a clothing choice that many see as a return to the era Colonial – saying that she wanted people to "focus on what I do what I wear."
But, although she regrets focusing on appearances, Trump carefully retains her public image, no more than during a week-long visit to Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, and Kenya. Egypt.
The trip produced a series of photos designed to improve the public profile of the first lady and generate goodwill on a continent wary of her husband's administration.
Trump, who often seems kidnapped, repeated and distant – an old model perched on five-inch stiletto heels, reading scripts – appeared more spontaneous and comfortable while she was visiting tourist sites, schools, hospitals and orphanages.
In Cairo, Trump was greeted by Egypt's first lady, Entissar al-Sisi. The two men then went to the presidential palace for tea, where Trump was also greeted by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
Trump holds hands with Kenyan children when he arrives at the Kenya National Theater in Nairobi. (Dai Kurokawa / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock)
The meetings were cordial, absent from any discussion of controversial topics such as President Trump's derogatory comments on African countries, according to local reports.
In the afternoon, the first lady went to see the most famous treasures of Egypt. Near the pyramid complex, the streets were cleaned and remodeled before he arrived, but there were hardly any residents in the area.
At the base of the Sphinx, Trump observed a project by the US Agency for International Development to protect the Sphinx and several other important archaeological sites in the country against rising groundwater.
During a Friday visit to a Kenyan orphanage, she stumbled on a drum beat as she walked, holding two children in her hand, as they were crossing a flower-lined courtyard. She laughed while feeding a baby elephant from a bottle in a shelter in Kenya.
And she seemed visibly moved by her visit earlier in the week to Cape Coast Castle, Ghana, where slaves were held prisoner in dungeons before being sent overseas on board ships.
"It's very emotional," she said after spending time there and laying wreaths in the cells. "I will never forget the incredible experience and the stories I've heard."
But in addition to escaping Washington's tumult and softening her own image, what did she accomplish on her first major solo trip abroad?
She seemed to pass the first test of any diplomatic mission: present yourself and show good will.
[[[["The nicest of trumps": Melania's trip to Africa written to avoid tripping]
The foreign policy experts believe however that the trip hardly reassured Africans that the Trump administration, which largely ignored the continent and proposed cuts in aid programs, make it a priority.
"She came, like many first American ladies, to take the kids, tell them what they needed, and she did," said Boubacar N'Diaye, professor of African studies at the College of Wooster. "I'm sure that in her heart she hears these things, but it's very different from the real policies that interest the government."
Others saw the visit as a rewarding gesture and said it had raised its profile even though it was unclear what effect it would have on US policy.
"The feedback from my visit is very positive," said Edward Saweregera, Malawi's ambassador to the United States. The first lady was warmly welcomed, he said, and the fact that "Malawi is one of the few selected countries" that she visited highlighted the link between the United States and the United States. United and Malawi. In Malawi, most people did not know much about his arrival before his arrival, so "it was a chance to get to know him," he said.
Regarding any impact on politics, the ambassador added, "Let me leave it to the US government."
Trump's trip was a discreet visit that generated few headlines, a fact that has a lot to do with the news cycle at home, dominated by Kavanaugh's news. And his schedule, including visits to a hospital, a school and US embassies, was relatively light.
Judd Devermont, program director for Africa at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that judging by the news coverage in African countries that she visited, "the interest in his trip varied from low interest to indifference".
Before her last story, the first lady spoke publicly a few times, then very briefly.
"Thank you for educating the children to be better," she said after visiting a school in Malawi, echoing her "Be Best" initiative to ensure the well-being of children . "And grow into educated adults for generations to come."
She avoided, as some mocked him, the elephant in the room. She told the press that her husband's derogatory comments about African nations (he called them "hogwash country" and also wondered if Nigerians would return to "their huts" after coming to the United States with a visa) did not show up during his visit.
Lauren Wright, author of "On behalf of the President" and a lecturer in politics at Princeton University, said Melania Trump could have done more to tone down the president's words and chose not to let him. appear significant. "What would help would be if she responded directly to her husband's comments on the continent," she said. "She does not clean the president's mess – she does her own thing. She made it clear that she was not there to save him, even though she was the only one who could do it."
Even the first lady's husband reacted to the trip as if he watched dumb television on television. "The great first lady of our country, Melania, is doing very well in Africa," he tweeted on Wednesday. "People love her and she loves them! It's a beautiful thing to see. "
Trump feeds an elephant baby with a bottle of milk at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage in Nairobi. (Carlo Allegri / Reuters)
But maybe the trip will make Melania Trump find her voice. In addition to the interview in Egypt, she is scheduled for a rare Friday TV session on ABCs "20/20". The show promises a "large-scale" interview between the first lady and Tom Llamas on the weekend. The anchor of "World News Tonight" who accompanied him on the trip to Africa.
Paolo Zampolli, a long-time friend of the Trumps, thinks the first lady could make more trips abroad, probably to Central America and South America, because she did not go to this country. part of the world. The trip to African countries served to "fly the American flag".
And it remains to be seen if, on his return, the first lady will pressure the president so that he will be more interested in the countries that she has visited – and will listen to him.
Even though the Trump administration has relaxed the rules to allow big game hunters to import tusks, skins and other animal elements, and that his half – sisters, Donald Jr. and Eric, are hunters, Melania Trump visited a big game conservation site.
"She thinks that animals are precious and that she does not like big game hunting," said spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham.
Heil and Jordan reported from Washington. Heba Farouk Mahfouz in Cairo contributed to this report.
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