Melania Trump promotes AI education in North Carolina school visit

First Lady Melania Trump visited Mountain View Elementary School in Ashe County, North Carolina, on September 15, 2026, to promote artificial intelligence education and announce new technology grants for local schools. The visit, part of her Be Best initiative, focused on the school's curriculum in AI, robotics, and engineering, and marked the second anniversary of Hurricane Helene, which had previously disrupted the community. During the tour, Trump announced that her initiative would provide 1,500 students in Ashe County with subscriptions to StudyFetch, an AI learning platform. Mountain View Elementary and other schools in the district are also set to receive 100 Nvidia Jetson Nano Developer Kits, which are small computers designed to run AI applications. She encouraged students to experiment with technology, telling them, "Maybe one of you will create the next great robot." The first lady's visit occurred amid a national debate on AI regulation. When asked by reporters about concerns over the technology, Trump emphasized the need for the United States to lead in AI development. "I think they need to learn. We need to lead as a AI, as a country," she said.