Melania stuns in Dolce suit and her favorite $900 shoes... as she hands out prizes amid an AI storm rattling the White House

By ELINA SHIRAZI, US SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 18:12, 9 June 2026 | Updated: 18:15, 9 June 2026 Melania Trump dazzled in a Dolce & Gabbana pinstripe suit and $900 Manolo pumps as she presented awards to the next generation of young AI developers on Tuesday. The First Lady hosted the 'Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge' Ceremony, an event celebrating six student champion teams alongside roughly 120 finalists. 'You are our future,' she told the kids. 'Keep using artificial intelligence as a muse. To open new pathways, and ultimately, to achieve personal growth and success.' The national competition brought together a diverse group of participants spanning elementary, middle and high schools. The sprawling initiative engaged more than 20,000 K-12 students, teachers, mentors and community organizations. The pool of talent represented all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and 49 Department of War Education Activity schools spanning 10 international countries. A number of high-profile administration officials attended the ceremony to show their support, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Michael Kratsios, the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. But the youth-focused celebration comes during a turbulent period for the administration's technology policies. First Lady Melania Trump dazzled in a Dolce & Gabbana pinstripe suit and a pair of $900 Manolo pumps as she presented presidential awards to the next generation of young AI developers on Tuesday Melania Trump looks on as she hosts a ceremony for the inaugural Presidential AI Challenge National Champion Awards in the East Room of the White House First Lady Melania Trump poses with student Aaron Gallagher during the Presidential AI Challenge Awards Ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, June 9 Melania Trump claps as Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios speaks during a ceremony for the inaugural Presidential AI Challenge National Champion Awards, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 9  'You are our future,' she started her remarks with. 'Keep using artificial intelligence as a muse. To open new pathways, and ultimately, to achieve personal growth and success' Melania Trump poses with the winners during a ceremony for the inaugural Presidential AI Challenge National Champion Awards, in the East Room  A number of high-profile administration officials attended the ceremony to show their support, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Michael Kratsios, the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Amid internal West Wing disagreements and vocal opposition from prominent tech executives - including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg - Trump scrapped a planned May executive order that would have mandated companies to preview advanced artificial intelligence models with federal officials.  Instead, the administration pivoted, signing an alternative executive order that asks top tech firms to voluntarily hand over their most advanced AI models for government evaluation 30 days before they are publicly launched - a strategy critics view as a step toward government ownership. It comes amid concerns over the safety of models such as Mythos from Anthropic, with the nation's top banks already put on notice over cybersecurity threats. The White House is weighing the safety concerns against fears that regulating the industry could give China the upper hand in the race for the technology which has been likened to the Manhattan Project. Despite the policy friction, the atmosphere inside the White House remained entirely celebratory. Following the First Lady's speech, Tech Director Michael Kratsios took the podium to emphasize the importance of making advanced software accessible.  He described AI as an extraordinary tool, praising the competition for inspiring diverse American students, even those without a primary background in math or science, to develop remarkable technical concepts. 'AI is a magical technology, but it needs to be demystified,' Kratsios said. First Lady Melania Trump poses with student Ryker Cochran during the Presidential AI Challenge Awards Ceremony in the East Room First Lady Melania Trump poses with award winners from the Alcoa Intermediate School in Alcoa Tenn. as she host the Inaugural Presidential AI Challenge National Champion Awards Ceremony at the White House on Tuesday First Lady Melania Trump poses with student Alexander Du during the Presidential AI Challenge Awards Ceremony in the East Room Kratsios then invited the winners to the stage, where the First Lady distributed award certificates, shook hands and smiled for photos with the honorees. Among the award-winning AI creations recognized at the event were a 'Friendzone Chatbot Bullying Prevention App,' a system titled 'Utilizing Computer Vision for Hotel Room Identification in Criminal Investigations,' and a project focused on 'Low-Cost Spatiotemporal AI Framework for Visually Impaired Navigation.' After the formal presentation concluded, Mrs. Trump lingered to chat with the students, offering them words of congratulations on their impressive achievements. The festivities continued with an outdoor reception held in the Rose Garden for all winners and guests. The top tier winners will meet with the First Lady in the Blue Room to show off their creations.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. 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