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First lady talks of courage after model describes affair

 
MIAMI BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 06: Karen McDougal attends Playboy's Super Saturday Night Party at Sagamore Hotel on February 6, 2010 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Playboy)
MIAMI BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 06: Karen McDougal attends Playboy's Super Saturday Night Party at Sagamore Hotel on February 6, 2010 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Playboy)
Published March 23, 2018

WASHINGTON — Melania Trump spoke about courage on Friday — what it is and why the world needs it. Her closely watched public appearance came a day after a former Playboy model told the world details of a 10-month affair the model says she had with a married Donald Trump a decade before he was elected president.

If the relationship Karen McDougal alleges was on the first lady's mind, she gave no hint of it.

A standing ovation greeted a smiling Mrs. Trump as she entered a State Department auditorium for an annual awards ceremony honoring non-U.S. women for acts of courage. She took her seat on stage in a plush chair and listened as State Department official Heather Nauert introduced her as a philanthropist and humanitarian who is focused on the well-being of children and who works tirelessly to raise awareness of the damaging effects of opioid addiction and cyberbullying.

Then it was Mrs. Trump's turn to speak.

"As we recognize these incredible women, let us think for a moment about what courage truly is," the first lady said. "Courage is the quality most needed in this world. Yet, it is often the hardest to find. Courage sets apart those who believe in a higher calling and those who act on it.

"It takes courage not only to see wrong, but strive to right it," she continued.

Former Playboy model Karen McDougal told CNN's Anderson Cooper during a lengthy interview broadcast Thursday night that the affair with Trump began at a bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2006, while he was married to the future first lady, who had recently given birth to their son, Barron. McDougal said she ended the relationship in 2007 out of guilt.

On Sunday, CBS's 60 Minutes is set to air Cooper's interview with adult film actor Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had a sexual relationship with Trump at around the same time as McDougal.