Melania Trump visits North Carolina school as GOP races to protect Senate seat

Melania Trump made a seldom-seen official trip to Jefferson, North Carolina, to attend a school event focused on community resiliency and education technology, emphasizing the state’s ongoing recovery from Hurricane Helene, which caused roughly $60 billion in damage and 107 deaths. She lauded the school’s role in providing food, water, and learning that “no hurricane can destroy,” and donated AI development kits, urging students to bring future inventions to the White House.

The appearance arrives as Republicans race to retain a Senate seat held by the retiring Thom Tillis, with former Governor Roy Cooper leading Republican Michael Whatley by about eight points in a late-August High Point University poll. GOP officials view the first lady’s visit as a morale boost for the campaign, which includes a Trump rally with Whatley in Gastonia the following day. The administration has also highlighted North Carolina through recent events such as a G20 finance summit in Asheville and visits by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice President JD Vance.