Melania Trump skips campaigning while on visit to New Hampshire while Ivanka on four-state trip

Melania Trump traveled to New Hampshire on Thursday but skipped out on campaigning in the crucial swing state as Ivanka Trump took part in four-state campaign tour for President Donald Trump’s re-election bid.

The first lady’s trip, which was to visit a Concord hospital, involved neither the presidential campaign nor the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 Americans.

She was there to visit a neonatal program for babies born addicted to drugs. Combating addiction is one of the three pillars of her Be Best campaign.

‘In honor of #RecoveryMonth, I will visit New Hampshire today with @ONDCP Director Carroll to highlight a local hospital’s treatment program for babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS),’ the first lady tweeted ahead of her trip.

Melania – wearing a dark brown $699 Elie Tahari coat, light brown pants and her signature high heels – visited a Simulation Center in a Concord hospital that features several ‘stations’ consisting of treatments aimed at helping provide comfort and care to babies born with NAS (neonatal abstinent syndrome).

‘September is National Recovery Month, a time to celebrate those who have embraced sobriety and the positive impact of a drug-free life. Today, I would like to highlight the people and programs that encourage and support the road to recovery for mothers and their innocent newborns,’ she said during her visit. 

She also met with a family who has already completed the NAS program and met with a ‘cuddle volunteers,’ whose job it is to hold and soothe the babies.

She gave the hospital’s Special Care Unit Nursery 20 fleece Be Best baby blankets to be used for future babies but did not visit the nursery due to COVID restrictions.

The first lady wore a face mask during her hospital visit – one of the few times she’s been seen in public wearing one. Additionally anyone in close contact with her was tested for COVID. 

Melania Trump has been focused on her signature initiative in recent days – she hosted an addiction roundtable at the White House earlier this month and led an event on sickle cell disease on Monday.

Her New Hampshire journey marked her first solo trip outside of Washington D.C. since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Meanwhile, the presidential contest in New Hampshire is close between President Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

A Sienna/New York Times poll out earlier this month had Biden in the lead by three points in a state that could prove critical to deciding who wins the White House this November.

Jill Biden, who maintains her own campaign schedule and staff, was in New  Hampshire on Wednesday with Doug Emhoff, the husband of Biden running mate Kamala Harris.

Vice President Mike Pence will be in New Hampshire next Tuesday to hold a rally for the Trump campaign. 

While the first lady was in New Hampshire, Ivanka Trump was campaigning for her father in the crucial state of Florida on Wednesday. 

She’s on a four-state tour of battleground states, also holding events in North Carolina, Texas, and Arizona. 

In a recent call held by the Trump campaign, officials bragged about the efforts of the Trump family in the re-election effort: Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric and Lara all have their own travel schedules and campaign stops.

Notably absent from any mention was the first lady.

Melania Trump spoke on the second night of the Republican National Convention from the White House Rose Garden but that was her last public campaign event. 

The East Wing has not commented on the first lady’s campaign schedule. 

The Trump children, however, have been busy on the campaign trail.

Ivanka Trump surprised volunteers at the Latinos for Trump headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday, where she also volunteered to work the phone bank.

After her visit, she sat down with Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and others to participate in a roundtable discussion about America’s working families.

Earlier this week in Wilmington, North Carolina, she spoke of her father’s accomplishments, including the First Step Act which removed a ‘three strikes’ life sentence for some offenses and allowing judges more discretion when it comes to the sentencing of non-violent crimes.

‘Of all the people who’ve talked about positively impacting the system for better, it was this president who delivered the most historic criminal justice reform that we’ve had in a generation and it’s just getting started,’ Ivanka said. 

Her siblings have also stayed busy campaigning. 

Donald Trump Jr and his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle held a campaign rally east of Detroit with musician Kid Rock last week. 

The couple also has had stops in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Ohio and North Carolina.

Eric and Lara Trump have also been active on the campaign trail.

Lara Trump is on a Women for Trump bus tour in Florida along with former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump campaign staffer Katrina Pierson.

She was also with President Trump when he was in Wilmington, N.C., last week.  

Eric Trump was also in Florida last week and has made stops in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.  He was in George on Tuesday.