The White House announced on Monday that Joshua Trump, a sixth-grader from Delaware who has been bullied at school because of his last name, will be among the presidential guests for the State of the Union address.
Joshua Trump, 11, from Wilmington, Delaware, is not related to President Donald Trump. Newsweek and other news outlets reported last year that Joshua has been ridiculed on the school bus and elsewhere, to the point that he began using a different last name.
"Unfortunately, Joshua has been bullied in school due to his last name," a White House statement said. "He is thankful to the first lady and the Trump family for their support."
Melania Trump has said she will focus on countering online bullying as first lady. The first family typically invites guests to the annual State of the Union speech to highlight causes or individuals whose circumstances illustrate the president's priorities.
Last year, Ms Trump suggested she was the “most bullied person in the world” during an interview to discuss her anti-cyberbullying campaign, Be Best.
The White House said other guests will include Judah Samet, who is a survivor of both the Holocaust and the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last year, and the family of an elderly Nevada couple allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant.
Alice Johnson, a woman who was sentenced to life imprisonment for a nonviolent drug offence and granted clemency by Mr Trump, is also an invited guest. She was granted clemency after her case was brought to the president by reality television star Kim Kardashian West.
Mr Trump’s State of the Union speech was originally scheduled for 29 January, but it was postponed amid the 35-day partial government shutdown over the president’s demand for border wall funding.
The Washington Post
