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Melania Trump and Usha Vance Thank Marines in N.C. Visit as First Lady Warns AI Will Transform War

The visit marked their first joint public trip without their husbands.

Overview

  • The first and second ladies toured Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River, meeting service members and families before addressing a crowd of about 1,500 in the Mega Hangar.
  • Melania Trump said artificial intelligence "will alter war more profoundly than any technology since nuclear weapons," emphasizing speed in weapons, detection, decision-making, attack and defense.
  • At Lejeune High School and DeLalio Elementary, they met students, observed AI and social‑media research projects, and highlighted the Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge.
  • The first lady thanked volunteers assembling 2,000 care packages for deployed troops and recognized Sgt. Blake Donoher and Cpl. Daishamari Cannon for their service.
  • Usha Vance praised military families as "a model for our country" and noted her family's ties to nearby Cherry Point, as a brief mic-feedback glitch interrupted the high‑school remarks.