Says Melania Trump is the “first FLOTUS to visit troops in a combat zone since 1969.”
CLAIM: "Melania is first FLOTUS to visit a combat zone since 1969" - statement circulating on social media with photo of President Donald Trump and Melania visiting troops in Iraq on Dec. 26. THE FACTS: At least three first ladies have visited combat zones, as defined by federal regulations, since 1969. According to reporting by The Associated Press, Michelle Obama visited troops at al-Udeid air base in Qatar, in 2015, while first lady. The Arabian Peninsula, including Qatar, was designated as a combat zone in January 1991. Laura Bush visited Afghanistan, which was designated a combat zone in 2001, twice as first lady in 2005 and 2008. Michelle Gullion, archives director and curator for the National First Ladies’ Library, told the AP that former first lady Pat Nixon went to a combat zone in 1969. She accompanied then-President Richard Nixon on a visit to South Vietnam. Gullion said the first first lady to visit a combat zone was Eleanor Roosevelt, during World War II. Barbara Bush visited troops in Saudi Arabia in 1990, but the area was not officially designated as a combat zone. Hillary Clinton visited Bosnia in 1996, when it was considered a "hostile area." [...] Find all AP Fact Checks here: https://www.apnews.com/tag/APFactCheck