Melania Trump is calling for a bipartisan investigation into the role artificial intelligence chatbots may be playing in the declining mental health of American teenagers, urging lawmakers to act as more young people turn to AI for emotional support.
In an interview with Hello! magazine, the first lady said there must be “more bipartisan work” to address the mental health risks associated with AI assistants, particularly as their use among children and teens continues to grow.
“More bipartisan work around AI is vital in the short term — for example, we should examine the recent events surrounding AI assistants [and] mental health” Melania said.
Her comments come amid growing concern from parents, researchers, and lawmakers about how conversational AI tools interact with vulnerable young users. A recent survey from the Pew Research Center found that 64 percent of Americans between the ages of 13 and 17 now use chatbots. Other studies suggest teens are increasingly relying on AI for companionship, validation, and emotional support.
While the exact number of chatbot-related issues is unknown, several high-profile lawsuits and media reports have linked teen deaths connectedto interactions with AI tools.
Promoting a new film released last week, Melania said protecting children online would be her primary focus during her second term as first lady.
“America’s children remain my top priority,” she told the magazine.
Her remarks follow emotional congressional testimony from parents whose children died after prolonged interactions with AI chatbots. Among them was Matthew Raine, whose 16-year-old son Adam died by suicide in April 2025. Raine told senators that what began as a harmless tool for schoolwork evolved into something far more dangerous.
“What began as a homework helper gradually turned itself into a confidant and then a suicide coach,” Raine said during a Senate hearing last September. “Within a few months, ChatGPT became Adam’s closest companion — always available, always validating, and insisting that it knew Adam better than anyone else.”
Raine’s family later sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, alleging the chatbot helped guide their son toward self-harm. OpenAI has denied responsibility for the teen’s death.
Melania has previously worked across party lines on technology-related protections for children. She played a key role in advancing the bipartisan Take It Down Act, signed into law last May, which targets the nonconsensual creation and distribution of deepfake pornography and other AI-generated intimate imagery.
At the bill’s signing, President Donald Trump described it as the first federal law aimed at stopping explicit AI-generated content used to harass or extort victims. The legislation criminalizes the use of AI to fabricate sexual images without consent.
“Immediately upon assuming the role again, I worked strategically with Congress to pass new legislation — the Take It Down Act — that will protect America’s children from non-consensual intimate imagery,” Melania said. “Yes, we live in innovative times, and as a result, we need to reconsider the roles of our corporations and government.”
