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The first lady has shown herself to be captivated by the wonders and dangers and opportunities of modern technologies.
Shawn McCreesh covers the White House. He reported from the East Room.
Sept. 4, 2025, 6:59 p.m. ET
Melania Trump turned up at the White House on Thursday with a warning for all mankind.
“The robots are here,” she said. “Our future is no longer science fiction.”
It wasn’t exactly “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” but it was a fascinating sight nonetheless. This first lady does not come to Washington easily or often, but felt compelled to return to speak about the possibilities and dangers of artificial intelligence and the collective duty of our species.
“As leaders and parents, we must manage A.I.’s growth responsibly,” she said in her remarks. “During this primitive stage, it is our duty to treat A.I. as we would our own children — empowering, but with watchful guidance.”
She was sitting at the head of a round table that had been set up in the East Room. To her right sat Michael Kratsios, the administration’s tech czar. Also up there was David Sacks, the administration’s go-to guy on crypto and A.I. initiatives; a couple of cabinet secretaries; and the heads of Google and IBM.
Mrs. Trump wore an ecru-colored suit and looked out into an audience of dozens of tech types. Sam Altman, the boyish-looking chief executive of OpenAI, sat in the front row and listened as Mrs. Trump read from her binder.
“We are living in a moment of wonder,” she said, “and it is our responsibility to prepare America’s children.”
