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First Lady Criticized Over Trip To China

Published March 20, 2014 at 1:20 PM EDT

First Lady Michelle Obama is in China today on her third trip abroad sans President Obama. The White House is calling the trip a “people to people exchange,” in which Mrs. Obama will visit some of China’s landmarks, spend time with China’s First Lady Peng Liyuan, and visit China’s schools promoting education and the importance of exchange programs between the two countries.

But the visit comes with strong criticism of the first lady for not bringing any members of the press or granting interviews, and not addressing some of the big issues, such as human rights and international trade abuses.

Mrs. Obama is the 13th first lady to travel to China. Both Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush addressed human right issues while they were there.

Here & Now’s Robin Young speaks with with Anita McBride, who was an assistant to president George W. Bush and chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush about expectations for Mrs. Obama’s trip.

Guest

  • Anita McBride, executive-in-residence at the American University Department of Government, senior advisor to the George W. Bush Institute, former assistant to President George W. Bush and chief of staff for First Lady Laura Bush. She tweets @AUFirstLadies.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

First Lady Michelle Obama traveled to China on March 20 with her mother, Marian Robinson, and daughters Sasha and Malia, to kick off a six-day tour where she will focus on education and cultural exchange. Mrs. Obama has received criticism for not making issues of trade and human rights focal points of the trip. (Feng Li/Getty Images)
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First Lady Michelle Obama traveled to China on March 20 with her mother, Marian Robinson, and daughters Sasha and Malia, to kick off a six-day tour where she will focus on education and cultural exchange. Mrs. Obama has received criticism for not making issues of trade and human rights focal points of the trip. (Feng Li/Getty Images)
US