Trump Lets First Lady Melania Sign a Bill She Helped Champion Through Congress
President Donald Trump invited First Lady Melania Trump to join him Monday in signing the “Take it Down Act,” a bipartisan bill she lobbied for on Capitol Hill.
The new law cracks down on nonconsensual sharing of explicit videos and photos online, including those generated by artificial intelligence.
At the Rose Garden signing ceremony, Melania Trump said, “Artificial Intelligence and social media are the digital candy for the next generation: sweet, addictive, and engineered to have an impact on the cognitive development of our children.
“But unlike sugar, these new technologies can be weaponized, shape beliefs, and sadly, affect emotions, and even be deadly,” the first lady added.
Melania and the president highlighted the example of Elliston Berry, who was at the Rose Garden event.
The Texas teenager was just 14 when “a classmate took an image off social media and used a computer program to create fake naked photos of her,” Fox Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate KDFW-TV reported.
First lady Melania Trump says the “Take It Down Act,” which criminalizes nonconsensual sharing of sexually explicit content and AI-generated deepfakes, is a “national victory that will help parents and families protect children from online exploitation.” https://t.co/1N2V1FHBtf pic.twitter.com/de3t9ec5yS
— ABC News (@ABC) May 19, 2025
Melania thanked her husband for standing with the bipartisan members of Congress who backed the bill.
The legislation passed the Senate, where it had been introduced by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, by unanimous consent in February.
The House approved it on April 28 by a vote of 409 to 2. Rep. Maria Salazar of Florida had introduced the Take It Down Act in that chamber.
President Trump began his remarks by briefly commenting on his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding ending the war in Ukraine, saying, “I think some progress has been made.”
He then turned to the bill-signing, stating, “I want to thank Melania for your leadership in this very important issue.”
“America is blessed to have such a dedicated and compassionate first lady,” he continued.
Trump then quipped, “Putin just said, ‘They respect your wife a lot.’ I said, ‘What about me?’ They like Melania better,” was the response.
Pres. Trump: “We just spent two and a half hours talking to Vladimir Putin and I think some progress has been made. … We also spoke to the heads of most of the European nations… Putin just said they respect your wife a lot. I said, ‘What about me?’ They like Melania better.” pic.twitter.com/acUH0zpGcG
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 19, 2025
“That wasn’t good. I don’t know if that was good. I’m OK with it,” the president said.
Regarding the Take It Down Act specifically, Trump recounted, “Upon hearing the stories of so many women affected, our first lady made stopping these abuses a top priority.”
The president explained that under the provisions of the law, anyone who distributes explicit material online without the subject’s consent will face up to three years in prison. And there are also civil liabilities for online platforms that refuse to take the images down.
After signing the legislation, Trump asked if the first lady would like to sign it, too.
JUST IN: @realDonaldTrump signs the ‘Take It Down’ Act into law to criminalize revenge porn—even letting first lady @MELANIATRUMP sign the bill she championed. pic.twitter.com/YU0ubjEEGO
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 19, 2025
He said, “She deserves to sign it.”
Melania obliged. While her signature will have no legal effect, it will be recorded in history that she signed the bill.
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