First Lady Pool Reports of November 19, 2025

FLOTUS pool #1 - Trip with SLOTUS to Camp Lejeune and MCAS New River, North Carolina

Good morning from the White House where skies are overcast and it is 47 degrees.

FLOTUS is scheduled to leave from here via motorcade for Andrews Air Force Base where she will meet up with Second Lady Usha Vance for a trip to Camp Lejeune and MCAS New River in North Carolina to thank service members and military families ahead of Thanksgiving.

FLOTUS and SLOTUS are expected to visit children in their school classrooms today and deliver remarks to an audience of service members and their families at a base hanger

We are holding at the White House press room awaiting departure.

FLOTUS pool #2 - departure
[APP Note: This is the first of two reports numbered '2'.]

FLOTUS Motorcade is rolling for JBA, departure 10:34 am

FLOTUS pool #2 - boarding
[APP Note: This is the second of two reports numbered '2'.]

Motorcade arrived at JBA at 10:59 am

The First Lady boarded the plane wearing a safari jacket in stone color with waxed cotton coffee color jeans and sporting stone-color suede boots.

(Second Lady Usha Vance arrived from the vice president’s residence earlier and is already on board.)

Wheels up at 11:15 am EST

FLOTUS pool #3 - arrival

FLOTUS and SLOTUS flight landed at the Albert J. Ellis Airport at 12:05 pm where it is partly cloudy, very breezy and 72 degrees.

Both women exited the plane and were greeted by:

Brigadier General Ralph J. Rizzo Jr

Commanding General, Marine Corps Installations East-

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune

Mrs. Milla Rizzo

Spouse of Brigadier General Rizzo

Mrs. Lisa Worth

Spouse of LtGen Calvert Lee Worth Jr., Commanding General,

II Marie Expeditionary Force

They spoke briefly and entered their vehicle. FLOTUS paused to wave at the press.

SLOTUS is wearing a burgundy (or maroon) ensemble with a sweater dress and a small heel.

We are now heading via motorcade to Lejeune High School where they will meet with school children.

FLOTUS pool #4 - Lejeune High

FLOTUS and SLOTUS arrived at Lejeune High at 12:50 pm

They entered the classroom and met with AP students from the Lejeune High "Devilpups," (a nod to the USMC "Devil Dog" nickname) to speak about technology development and AI.

They sat with four tables of students with laptops where four students delivered a presentation on electronic media affecting sleep and adolescent wellbeing as well as a study on social media addiction and its impact on young people's esteem and body image.

The students showed how they used AI technology to generate a video for their presentation, a project proposal, and ways to reference their studies.

A teacher introduced students to present their projects on the presidential AI challenge.

Pool overheard The First Lady ask one group of students how they used AI in school and how were able to use it in the classroom. Students explained various guardrails that existed to keep students from using it to cheat on assignments.

Pool is moving to the next room

FLOTUS pool #5 - Lejeune High continued

FLOTUS and SLOTUS entered the gym to cheers and warm applause where the bleachers were filled with parents, students, and teachers as well as students in the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (MJROTC) program

The First Lady thanked service members and their families for their service and wished them a "wonderful" and "safe Thanksgiving" and invited them to the White House. She also extended greetings from the president as well. She thanked volunteers for putting together 2,000 care packages for service members overseas, that were in the gym.

Pool exited as the First Lady and Second Lady greeted shook hands with MJROTC students.

Pool now in transit to DeLalio Elementary School for their next stop.

FLOTUS pool #6- DeLalio Elementary School - games, crafts and 67

The First and Second Lady arrived at DeLalio Elementary School at 2:02 pm

They visited with three classrooms of about a dozen elementary students on each room and their teachers in an open setting.

The First Lady sat next to one girl who was intently focused on using scissors to cut a piece of paper. She introduced herself and offered to help cut the paper for the arts project. At one point she praised the girl's "beautiful" hair that was in pigtails.

She later moved on to a table of boy students to observe their art projects. At one point she picked up a foam dice they were playing with and rolled it on the table.

One girl wandered over to speak to the First Lady but pooler could not hear their conversation.

She moved to the next table where a boy was coloring a picture of a turkey.

She returned to the table where the girl was cutting paper and spoke to her as she was pasting paper squares on a yellow background.

"Goodbye everybody, Happy Thanksgiving!" She said as she moved to the next classroom

She moved to the next classroom, where a girl showed her a picture of her cat.

A small boy approached her and said he was shy but the first Lady offered to give him a hug and he accepted.

Two children spotted a ladybug on the floor and picked it up to show it to their teacher who said it must mean they were going to get "good luck."

The First Lady crouched down to speak to another girl who appeared to talk to her about snakes.

"Snakes can be dangerous," she told the girl.

When the first lady pointed out the press, and asked if she wanted to say hi, the girl looked up and promptly walked away.

She and the Second Lady moved to a third classroom where one girl read her something off of her paper and a young boy was furiously trying to erase something he had colored. The First Lady moved to another table where students were playing a game where they put a card with a word into a plastic headband and put it on their head.

The First Lady put the headband on her head with the word "sled" in it. They then wrote down the word on each others head. She then put a card that read "plum" on it and also one that read "slid"

She smiled and told the students it was a "fun game."

At another table two students told the Second Lady Usha Vance their ages.

" I'm six," said one student. "I'm seven," said another student, prompting other students to call out the infamous 6-7 thing that kids do.

That led one teacher to protest, "Oh my gosh, Don't say that!"

The Second Lady laughed and said the trend "hadn't hit my household yet" and only learned about it from other people.

"I'm not on my guard," she said.

Pool later moved to a cafeteria area where more students were doing arts and crafts when the First Lady and the Second Lady arrived.

Students wearing a red, white, and blue ribbon have a service member in their family actively deployed overseas

Teacher and staff names:

Met by:

Mr. Ryan Smith

District Superintendent, DODEA

Ms. Shelia Gilliard

Principal, DeLalio Elementary School

Kindergarten and 1st Grade Classrooms

Mrs. Quintero's Kindergarten Class

Ms. Mitchell's Kindergarten Class

Ms. Sholar's 1st Grade Class

Arts and crafts with 3rd 4th and 5th graders

Participants:

Mr. Myron Dannemiller, Art Teacher, DeLalio Elementary School

Dr. Jessica Holloway, Art Teacher, DeLalio Elementary School

46 - 3rd, 4th, and 5th Graders, DeLalio Elementary School

Pool exited at 3:00 pm we are now moving out to the military hanger for remarks.

FLOTUS pool #7 - Camp Lejeune Marines and hanger remarks

Second Lady Usha Vance took the stage at 3:40pm to wish the Marines a Happy 250th Birthday and introduce First Lady Melania Trump.

First Lady Melania Trump took the stage at 3:43 pm to cheers and her remarks are being live-streamed.

She recognized two Marines, inviting them to the stage:

Sergeant Blake Donoher, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Warrior of the Month

Corporal Daishamari Cannon, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 NCO of the Quarter

Pool arrived earlier and was escorted to a hanger with about 1,000 marines at 3:15 pm

On display at the hanger is an UH-1Y Venom helicopter, an MV-22 Osprey, a Bell AH-1Z Viper, an Amphibious Combat Vehicle, and a Light Armored Vehicle

As Marines awaited FLOTUS and SLOTUS , the conductor of the marine Band instructed a young girl named Charlie in the audience on how to conduct the Marine Band.

FLOTUS pool #8 - motorcade leaving Camp Lejeune - updated crowd numbers

The First and Second Lady are returning to the airport for travel back to DC - the motorcade rolled out at 4:08 pm

Pool is informed official crowd number in the hanger was 1,600.

FLOTUS pool #9 - Airport: boarding and departure

FLOTUS and SLOTUS arrived at the Albert J. Ellis Airport at 4:35 and waved at the press as they exited their vehicle.

When the press asked the First Lady how her trip was she, she appeared to say "beautiful," and "it was a very nice visit, thank you" but it was difficult for pool to hear her remarks.

The First Lady and Second Lady boarded the plane together as the sun set in the background.

Wheels up at 4:56 pm.

FLOTUS pool #10 - JBA landing

FLOTUS and SLOTUS plane landed at 5:44 pm.

The First Lady and Second Lady exited the plane together at 5:59 pm.

FLOTUS entered her vehicle and the Second Lady is traveling back to the vice president’s residence separately

We are now in the motorcade and returning back to the White House

FLOTUS pool #11 - back at the White House

FLOTUS motorcade weaved through rush hour traffic in the DC area and returned to the White House at 6:30 pm

That marks the end of our trip. Have a good night!