Image: Melania Trump's Twitter Video

Opinion: Melania Trump Bashed by The Washington Post for Holiday Decor

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In: CULTURE, PRESIDENT TRUMP

Washington Post article on the White House Christmas theme “The Spirit of America” states ‘it’s all quite lovely’, then jumps to the annual media tradition of attacking the First Lady. The article calls Melania’s coat draped over her shoulders ‘ridiculous’. The article continues to go after Melania Trump for her fashion choices. After the first two paragraphs, it really appears to be a free-for-all on the first lady, ending with “she doesn’t seem to want to be there”, the whole thing comes off as petty. The Post “perspective” piece reported in part:

For her tour, Mrs. Trump wears all white: a dress with a simple jewel neckline, white stiletto-heeled pumps and a white coat. The coat is draped over her shoulders as she strolls through the White House.

The coat looks ridiculous.

But more than a silly fashion folly, the coat is a distraction. It’s a discomforting affectation taken to a ludicrous extreme. In a video that is intended to celebrate the warmth and welcoming spirit of the holiday season, that simple flourish exudes cold, dismissive aloofness.

As Trump gazes pleasantly at all that her staff and a host of volunteers have accomplished, her attire suggests that she’s casually passing through and has little affinity for the occasion. She’s not getting comfortable, so why should you?

She has styled herself in a manner that contradicts what her staff has so often insisted — that she is an engaged hostess who sweats the details and frets about her guests’ comfort. Instead, she looks like the sort of host who greets her guests at the front door, tells them to remove their shoes and warns them not to sit on the Lalanne sheep. A look at the White House Christmas DecorationsWhite House video shows first lady Melania Trump walking through the monochromatic wonderland she designed for the 2019 holiday season. (The White House)

The coat tossed over the shoulders is a generic styling maneuver. It’s often used in editorial photographs so that a model can show off the entirety of an ensemble, including what’s underneath the coat, because all of it has been thoughtfully coordinated. But even the most devoted fashion stylist realizes that at a certain point, when aesthetics start to overwhelm logic, when a flourish becomes a cliche, it’s time to retire it. For Trump, the cliche seems to be a crutch — a way of not having to be fully present.

Melania Trump’ s White House Christmas decorations are a monochromatic wonderland

The first lady doesn’t speak in the 2019 video. To a soundtrack of jingling bells and sprightly piano tinkling, Mrs. Trump glides silently through the White House summoning our attention with her gestures. She’s seen mostly at an angle and from a distance, and there’s never a moment when she looks at the viewer straight on. There’s not an intimate moment. She is all body language and aesthetics.

The New York Times also did an article on White House released pictures of the First Lady looking over the Christmas Decorations. They say they don’t look welcoming as the first lady minimizes her presence in the press release.  

SEE TWEET FROM MELANIA BELOW:

The media has bashed the First Lady’s Christmas decorations every year. In 2018 the hall of red Christmas trees was turned into a meme relating it to the ‘Handmaid’s Tale’. 

In 2017, some in the press equated pictures of her walking through a hall of white trees as the white witch from Lion witch and the wardrobe.

Since the Trumps have been in the White House they have made it a point back to classic traditions such as decorating the White House for Christmas. The decorations are lovely and many clamor at the chance to walk through the White House to see them all. This year’s decorations are very clean and classic.

Ian MacDonald
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