'No good, really bad for you in every way': Trump delivers his verdict on drugs at a 'major briefing' on America's deadly opioid epidemic as Melania channels Nancy Reagan by supporting the cause

  • President Donald Trump holds a meeting on opioid addiction today
  • The event is at Trump's golf course in Bedminister, New Jersey 
  • First lady Melania will attend the event
  • She tweeted that opioids are 'destroying our youth/people'
  • Tweets #stopdrugaddiction hashtag
  • Nancy Reagan famously championed the 'Just Say No' campaign 
  • Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price also will attend

By Geoff Earle Deputy U.s. Political Editor For Dailymail.com

Published: 11:27 EST, 8 August 2017 | Updated: 07:27 EST, 9 August 2017

President Donald Trump vowed that the U.S. would 'win' the battle against the deadly opioid epidemic – and first lady Melania Trump is joined in his call to fight addiction.

'It is a problem the likes of which we have not seen,' Trump told reporters brought in for a briefing at his New Jersey golf course, where Trump is staying for 17 days.

'We will fight this deadly epidemic and the United States will win,' the president vowed.

'The best way to prevent drug addiction and overdose is to prevent people from abusing drugs in the first place. If they don't start, they won't have a problem. If they do start, it's awfully tough to get off.'

Then Trump advised: 'So if we can keep them from going on and maybe by talking to the youths and telling them: "No good, really bad for you in every way." But if they don't start, it will never be a problem,' he added.  

First lady Melania Trump joined her husband at the event, in one of her must visible moves in the policy arena.  

President Donald Trump vowed that the U.S. would 'win' the battle against the deadly opioid epidemic and was joined by first lady Melania Trump

President Donald Trump vowed that the U.S. would 'win' the battle against the deadly opioid epidemic and was joined by first lady Melania Trump

Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and senior adviser Kellyanne Conway are also attending.   

Trump's older brother Freddy died in 1981 as an alcoholic at just 43 years old. 

'It's a tremendous problem in our country, and I hope we get it taken care of as well as it can be taken care of. Hopefully better than any other country that also has these same problems. Nobody is safe from this epidemic that threatens all - young and old, rich and poor, urban and rural communities. Everybody is threatened. Drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in the United States,' said Trump. 

'We're not letting it go by. The average sentence for a drug offender decreased 20 percent from 2009 to 2016. During my campaign, I promised to fight this battle because as President of the United States my greatest responsibility is to protect the American people and to ensure their safety, especially in some parts of our country, it is horrible,' Trump said. 

Missing from the bunch is New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, head of Trump's opioid commission. Christie is on a 10-day trip to Italy, NJ.com reported.

First lady Melania Trump tweeted about the opioid epidemic and attends a meeting with the president on the subject Tuesday

First lady Melania Trump tweeted about the opioid epidemic and attends a meeting with the president on the subject Tuesday

The first lady revealed her plans in a tweet Tuesday morning, where she wrote that opioids are 'destroying' the nation's youth, as the crisis takes the lives of dozens of Americans each day.

Her comment was an echo of former first lady Nancy Reagan, who championed the 'Just Say No' campaign, which had mixed results during the 1980s.  

'Opioids are destroying our youth/people. Mtg w @POTUS & @SecPriceMD today to give my support to #STOPDRUGADDICTION,' the first lady wrote on her @FLOTUS Twitter account.

The president also plugged the meeting in a tweet. 'I will be holding a major briefing on the Opioid crisis, a major problem for our country, today at 3:00 P.M. in Bedminster, N.J.,' Trump wrote.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price is attending.

The hashtag drew supporters as well as critics – some of whom noted that Trump-backed health care legislation would slash funding for Medicaid and drug treatment programs.

A group of GOP centrists who torpedoed the bill stressed potential cuts to addiction treatment programs.

Melania Trump tweeted the hashtag #STOPDRUGADDICTION

Melania Trump tweeted the hashtag #STOPDRUGADDICTION

Piles of trash, including thousands of syringes and empty heroin bags, are found at the heroin camp located under the North Second Street overpass, in the Kensington Section of Philadelphia, PA, on July 31, 2017. A large joined operation of Conrail and the City of Philadelphia to clean up the popular open drug area is expected to take 30 days

Piles of trash, including thousands of syringes and empty heroin bags, are found at the heroin camp located under the North Second Street overpass, in the Kensington Section of Philadelphia, PA, on July 31, 2017. A large joined operation of Conrail and the City of Philadelphia to clean up the popular open drug area is expected to take 30 days

The first lady traditionally refrains from policy statements, although she has spoken about getting involved in a campaign to stop cyber bullying, without much to show for it to date.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan became identified with a campaign to try to persuade young people to turn away from drugs, as part of the broader 'war on drugs' during the Reagan administration.  

'We want you to help us create an outspoken intolerance for dug use,' Reagan said in one interview. 'I employ each of you to be unyielding and inflexible in your opposition to drugs.'

In a 1986  speech outlining the 'Just Say NO' campaign, Nancy Reagan said: 'Our job is never easy because drug criminals are ingenious. 'They work everyday to plot a new and better way to steal our children's lives, just as they've done by developing this new drug, crack. For every door that we close, they open a new door to death.'

JUST SAY NO: First Lady Nancy Reagan at the "Just Say No Club" event on the South Lawn of the White HouseIN 1985

JUST SAY NO: First Lady Nancy Reagan at the 'Just Say No Club' event on the South Lawn of the White HouseIN 1985

Bucket with used syringes is found at the open air heroin camp located, in the Kensington Section of Philadelphia, PA, on July 31, 2017. A large joined operation of Conrail and the City of Philadelphia to clean up the popular open drug area is expected to take 30 days

Bucket with used syringes is found at the open air heroin camp located, in the Kensington Section of Philadelphia, PA, on July 31, 2017. A large joined operation of Conrail and the City of Philadelphia to clean up the popular open drug area is expected to take 30 days

A Rockford, Illinois firefighter displays a dose of Naloxone which the department carries on their ambulances to treat opioid drug overdoses on July 14, 2017 in Rockford, Illinois. Rockford, a city of about 150,000 located in northern Illinois, averages about 2 overdose deaths per week, the majority of which are heroin related. Nationwide, an estimated 60,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses in 2016, more than gunshots or traffic accidents

A Rockford, Illinois firefighter displays a dose of Naloxone which the department carries on their ambulances to treat opioid drug overdoses on July 14, 2017 in Rockford, Illinois. Rockford, a city of about 150,000 located in northern Illinois, averages about 2 overdose deaths per week, the majority of which are heroin related. Nationwide, an estimated 60,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses in 2016, more than gunshots or traffic accidents

U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. First Lady Melania Trump walk across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, July 25, 2017. During an Ohio rally Trump said that Republicans are a "step closer" to repealing Obamacare after the Senate agreed to begin floor debate on the health-care bill

U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. First Lady Melania Trump walk across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, July 25, 2017. During an Ohio rally Trump said that Republicans are a 'step closer' to repealing Obamacare after the Senate agreed to begin floor debate on the health-care bill

Mike, 22, a heroin addict who began using opiates when he was 13, pauses to shoot-up by a railway underpass in the Kensington section of Philadelphia which has become a hub for heroin use on July 31, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mike, 22, a heroin addict who began using opiates when he was 13, pauses to shoot-up by a railway underpass in the Kensington section of Philadelphia which has become a hub for heroin use on July 31, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

During the end of the Obama administration, the White House negotiated with lawmakers in both parties over changes to the criminal justice system related to the roughly 2 million Americans in prison, though the action stalled.

Donald Trump spoke frequently about the the opioid crisis during the 2016, as a rise in prescription drug use led to severe consequences in many communities.

In a leaked call with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Trump referred to New Hampshire as a 'drug infested den.'

President Trump tweeted that he is hard at work at his Bedminister golf course, but also got photographed on the links

President Trump tweeted that he is hard at work at his Bedminister golf course, but also got photographed on the links

New Hampshire residents are hitting back at Donald Trump after a leaked transcript from a January 27 phone call revealed that he called the state a 'drug-infested den'. Many are posting up pictures of the state's natural beauty

New Hampshire residents are hitting back at Donald Trump after a leaked transcript from a January 27 phone call revealed that he called the state a 'drug-infested den'. Many are posting up pictures of the state's natural beauty

First Lady Nancy Reagan speaks at an anti-drug conference at the White House

First Lady Nancy Reagan speaks at an anti-drug conference at the White House

Some state residents took umbrage, tweeting images of tranquil mountains and lakes in the Granite State. 

Melania Trump during the campaign said among the issues she would focus on as first lady was prevention of cyber bullying. She has accompanied the president on foreign trips and to other White House events, but has yet to stake out a major profile on a national issue.

Trump established a commission on 'Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis,' headed by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

A preliminary report compared the death toll to a 'September 11th every three weeks,' the Washington Post reported.  

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