‘We love women’: Trump, Melania honor women’s history month at White House

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump marked women’s history month at the White House Thursday, celebrating the role of women in American life while touting the administration’s work on women’s sports, tax cuts that help working moms, and infertility treatment costs.

The first lady opened the event by highlighting the ways women can shape the future.

“The strength of America is closely tied to the role women play in shaping their children’s character, education, and morals,” she said. “The values cultivated within our communities shape the voice and vision of our next generation.”

Highlighting her own roles as a mother, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and film producer, the first lady noted that across the country, “women are finding unique ways to balance career ambition and family.”

“To all of the young women, entrepreneurs, and future leaders: Make time for yourself, educate yourself daily, and spread your passion. Be courageous and take risks,” she said. “Be a bold chief executive while keeping your family, if you choose so, at the center of our nation’s future.”

The East Room was packed with women – congresswomen, Cabinet secretaries, and mothers – and Trump called several guests onstage to champion his policies and share how they changed their lives.

A sheriff from Florida, Michelle Cook, spoke on how Trump’s no tax on overtime deduction puts thousands of dollars “back in the pockets of hardworking Americans.” Another woman Trump invited on stage, the wife of a second-generation Virginia farmer, praised the administration’s support for American agriculture and estate tax relief for family farms, which she credited with ensuring that her “daughters can farm one day.”

Another woman, a waitress from North Carolina, said Trump’s no tax on tips initiative made her do a “double take” when she saw how much money she saved. “I had to do my taxes twice to make sure this was real,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

“We love women. Women are the whole deal,” Trump said. “We’re honored to be joined by many extraordinary ladies, working moms, and amazing women who are making history.”

Since taking office last year,“we’ve created more than 300,000 jobs now filled by proud, hardworking American women. It’s a record,” Trump said. “The number of women-owned businesses increased by 1.2 million last year alone.”

Olympic bobsledder and gold medalist Kaillie Humphries awarded Trump with the Order of Ikkos medal during the event.

“Every Olympic medalist in the United States gets an Order of Ikkos that they get to hand to somebody in honor and recognition of somebody who’s made a meaningful contribution to their journey to the podium, because Olympic medals are never achieved alone,” she said. “I want to recognize the support and the impact you’ve had on women’s sports throughout the Olympic movement, specifically standing up to keep biological women in women’s sports, to keep the field of play safe and allow for fair competition.”

Beyond the women’s history event, Trump used the occasion to push the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote and voter ID at the polls. Trump also acknowledged an attack at a Michigan synagogue on Thursday, calling it a “terrible thing” and sending “love to the Michigan Jewish community.” He spoke briefly on Iran, noting the situation is “moving along very rapidly.”

“They are a nation of terror and hate,” he said, “and they’re paying a big price right now.”