The first women have been visiting the National Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC during the holidays for decades, and even a global pandemic did not stop the tradition. But Melania Trump’s fourth and final festive visit as first lady on Tuesday seemed a little different from past seasons.
“Every year I love my visit to @ChildrensNatl to read a children’s holiday story and meet with dedicated and inspiring health professionals.” Trump tweeted on Tuesday, sharing photos from previous years ’event. “This will be my fourth visit there and I look forward to spending time with so many brave children and their families again.”
The hospital adjusted the program of the event to help ensure the visit was as safe as possible in the midst of the pandemic, the Associated Press reports.
Trump was still sitting in a chair in front of a massive, lavishly decorated Christmas tree in the atrium of the facility to do his annual reading, but people were much smaller than in years past. Instead of reading to a large group of patients and their families, hospital staff and artists, Trump was seen in a Facebook Live video posted by the hospital coming out into the tree in front of just a handful of people.
Two patients, Riley Whitney, 6, and Sofia Martinez, 8, sat in front of the first lady on a red carpet while reading, AP reports.
“It’s wonderful to be here. This is one of my favorite events during the holidays,” Trump said before reading Todd Zimmerman’s children’s story “Oliver the Ornament Meets Marley & Joan and Abbey.” The story is part of the “Oliver the Ornament” book series that Trump said he began reading three years ago.
He also urged children to “stay strong and strong” before the story begins.
Everyone at the event wore masks in addition to practicing social distancing, a hospital spokesman told CBS News by email. The space was closed to hospital visitors, they added.
The video showed the first lady withdrawing her face to read the book, prompting concern about violating hospital guidelines.
“All staff, families / caregivers and visitors must wear a mask at all times while at any national children’s center to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” the website states.
The hospital spokesman told CBS News that the hospital’s website “does not include the mask policy for people who come to the hospital to make a speech.”
“The First Lady followed our mask protocols for public speakers, which is based on DC Health guidelines, which state that it is not necessary to wear a mask when a person delivers a speech to broadcast it or an audience, always that no one is less than six meters from the west, “the spokesman added.
The hospital said that when Trump took off his mask for reading, he was “more than twelve feet away from other people in our four-story atrium.” The spokesman confirmed that the first lady wore a mask for the rest of her visit, adding that she did not visit any patient care areas.
Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
The reading was transmitted through the hospital’s CCTV system so patients could hear them from their rooms, according to AP. After the reading, Trump participated in the number call during a bingo game. The game is played twice a week to give children a mental respite from their conditions, according to AP.
“Mrs. Trump has our deep gratitude for joining all the first ladies since Bess Truman to encourage the holidays to children who are hospitalized and unable to be home during this special time of year,” she said. Dr. Kurt Newman, CEO of the AP.
The visit comes as the coronavirus continues to rage across the country. More than 300,000 Americans have now died from the coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The country surpassed the milestone when the first Americans began receiving the newly authorized Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.
The first lady has been busy preparing for the holidays, revealing the White House Christmas decorations 2020 and theme: “Beautiful America” late last month. The inauguration took place less than two months after CNN aired secret recordings in June 2018, in which it lamented the preparation for the White House vacation.
CBS News has not independently verified the recordings.