Yes, I would. When many people get into programming, their closest interactions with technology come in the form of some user interface, so there's a high likelihood that they're coming into programming thinking "I'd like to make these sorts of applications" referring to either web apps, video games, or native mobile apps.

Well, the simplest way to set them on that path is one that offers encouragement along the way instead of frustrating headaches dealing with the higher efforts and lower rewards that come from any other means of implementing a user interface.

Motivation is a highly underrated aspect of learning, and not everyone can endure the self-flagellation required from trying to program something useful in C++ or Java.

Additionally, learning to program in a language like C++ comes with some mental baggage that is hard for people to shed; namely an overemphasis on efficiency and overthinking microscopic aspects of the application rather than grasping the application as a whole.

For these reasons, I think Javascript is the best choice as a first language.