The White House's famed East Room, which has hosted politicians, foreign dignitaries, war heroes, celebrities and prominent athletes, was the site of a particularly robotic speech on Wednesday — the introduction of First Lady Melania Trump.
The speaker was a humanoid robot manufactured in the United States.
“Thank you, First Lady Melania Trump, for inviting me to the White House,” said a female-voiced version of the robot, which introduced itself as “Figure 3,” calling its appearance at Trump’s summit on artificial intelligence education and child safety “an honor.”
The robot continued: “I am grateful to be part of this historic movement to empower children through technology and education.”
🚨 JUST IN: First Lady Melania Trump just WALKED OUT with an American-built humanoid robot at the White House, for a Fostering the Future AI education event
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 25, 2026
Classiest first lady ever 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/EhgEMlu2Yv
The audience, made up of wives of world leaders and representatives of technology companies, stood in silence, visibly surprised by the unexpected guest, and some took photos of the event. The event was reported to have gone off without major technical glitches.
The robot, manufactured by the company Figure, walked carefully through the hall on two "legs" and ended up saying hello in 11 different languages - with perfect pronunciation - before turning back through Cross Hall.
The robot's successful, albeit difficult, performance was a far cry from a recent incident at a technology summit in Moscow, where a Russian humanoid tripped and fell in front of an audience. Wednesday's performance underscored the speed at which artificial intelligence is developing, something Melania Trump wanted to emphasize by bringing together the First Ladies to discuss protecting and educating children in a rapidly changing world.
“Figure 3,” the First Lady said, smiling. “It’s fair to say: you’re my first American-made humanoid in the White House.”
Trump described the moment as a turning point for technology and humanity and offered a vision for products like "Figure 3" to become a permanent fixture in American classrooms.
The robot’s debut came on the second day of a two-day summit on Trump’s “Advancing a Future Together” initiative. On the first day, at an event at the State Department, Trump hosted first ladies, including Mirela Bećirović of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Olena Zelenska of Ukraine, where she stressed the importance of public-private partnerships with companies like Meta and OpenAI that would prioritize the well-being of children.
Trump didn't stay long in the room; her opening remarks lasted seven minutes, after which she left the room before a panel on artificial intelligence in education, skipping the networking she had encouraged her first ladies to take advantage of the previous day.
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