Politics

‘I don’t care’: Melania’s controversial coat to visit migrant children

Jun 22, 2018

Melania Trump's choice of jacket sparked outrage online. Source: Getty.

First Lady Melania Trump has been branded “disrespectful” after she wore a jacket bearing the slogan ‘I really don’t care, do u?’ during an official trip to visit migrant children being held in a detention centre.

The 48-year-old former model wore the $39 (AU$52) coat as she made an official visit to a children’s shelter at the US-Mexico border on Thursday, where she met with youngsters who had been taken away from their families after they were stopped trying to enter the United States.

The first lady’s visit came after she publicly spoke out against her husband’s policy to split up families in this manner last week, however her good will trip was somewhat overshadowed by her controversial choice of jacket.

People took to Twitter to slam her outfit choice calling the mother-of-one “disrespectful” and “inappropriate”. One user wrote: Melania Trump wearing a coat that says ‘I don’t care, do you?’ whilst visiting the children who have been separated from their parents and kept in cages by her husband is atrocious.

https://twitter.com/_EleriHall/status/1009934793507770369

A spokesperson for the first lady insisted there was “no hidden message” behind the jacket, and said: “If media would spend their time & energy on her actions & efforts to help kids – rather than speculate & focus on her wardrobe – we could get so much accomplished on behalf of children. #SheCares #ItsJustAJacket”.

However, her husband Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, later confirmed that there was a hidden message behind her choice of coat, claiming that the bold statement on the back of her green parka was actually in reference to the fake news media, following recent speculation in the press about the FLOTUS’ whereabouts.

Tweeting in defence of his wife, President Trump said: “’I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?’ written on the back of Melania’s jacket, refers to the Fake News Media. Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!”

The jacket is from high-street retailer Zara. Source: Zara.

Trump made headlines earlier this week after she spoke out about the current immigration crisis taking place at America’s borders, after it was revealed that thousands of children have been separated from their parents who attempted to enter the USA illegally.

Speaking via her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham, the first lady told CNN that she “hates to see children separated from their families” and hopes that her husband can work with the opposition to achieve “successful immigration reform”.

Grisham said: “Mrs. Trump hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform. She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart.”

On Wednesday President Trump signed an order to stop children being separated from arrested parents, crediting his wife and daughter Ivanka for his change of heart, and confirmed that families would now be detained together. He said: “I didn’t like the sight or the feeling of families being separated.”

Prior to that the first lady had been the centre of press attention after she vanished from the public eye and was not seen for almost a month. The White House later confirmed that the First Lady had been admitted to hospital to undergo kidney surgery.