The First Lady’s message came after the US Department of Labor announced the ‘Rosies’ – women who worked in riveting, welding, and other industrial roles during the second world war – would be inducted into its Labor Hall of Honor. The First Lady said in a Twitter and Instagram post: “On the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War ll & the 100th Anniversary of the establishment of the Women’s Bureau at USDOL, we honour the Rosies.
“I was proud to join USDOL and their Women’s Bureau to induct the Rosies into the DOL Hall of Honor. God Bless the Rosies and God Bless America!”
While users were largely supportive of Mrs Trump’s post on Instagram, many condemned it on Twitter with focus switching to the upcoming presidential election.
One said: “Looking forward to again having a real First Lady there as well as a real president instead of a wannabe dictator.”
Another said: “The Rosies displayed honour, sacrificed, and worked to help military and their fellow citizens. Things you and POTUS know nothing about.”
Women in the US were largely employed at engineering firms such as Kaiser Shipyards, Boeing and Ford during World War II while the nation was at war.
There, they built the military equipment such as aircraft, tanks, and weapons used by US forces.
The US Department of Labor said this allowed more soldiers – then males – to be sent to the front lines.
It is thought between five and seven million women served in ‘war industries’ during the war, bringing the female workforce as a whole to 19 million, the DoL added.
Melania Trump has also come under fire on social media recently after news broke that the White House Rose Garden would need to be repaired just weeks after it was renovated.
The First Lady was tasked with the redesign of te outdoor space earlier this year.