Hmm … (by the author for Hyperallergic)

Cue the outrage machine, Melania Trump — the complicit First Lady of Trumplandia — has walked into another fashion faux pas with what appears to be $39 Zara jacket emblazoned with with words, “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” on the back. It has to be a troll, right? The Daily Mail was the first to spot the callous outerwear during her visit to an immigrant children detention facility in Texas, and as news of the ridiculous jacket circulated online, the Tweeter-in-chief had his own spin (of course):

“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 tweet contradicts what a FLOTUS spokesperson told CNN’s Jim Acosta, which he shared on Twitter: “It’s a jacket. There was no hidden message. After today’s important visit to Texas, I hope the media isn’t going to choose to focus on her wardrobe.”

It’s becoming hard to tell what’s intentional and staged for effect and what’s accidental and subconscious in an administration that is equal parts clown circus, aggressive machismo, and an experiment in how much avarice one administration can actually contain.

The original Zara jacket (via Zara)

This isn’t the first fashion choice by Melania that has irked the US public, as she also wore stiletto heels to Texas after Hurricane Harvey. It’s also relevant that, like the Trump administration’s callous immigrant child separation policy, Zara has a questionable record with children, since some appear to have been found working in Brazilian sweatshops making their clothes.

Just in case it wasn’t clear the first time, FLOTUS decided to wear the jacket again as she deplaned at Andrews Air Force base upon her return to Washington D.C. It was 82 degrees and muggy when she arrived. This comes after NPR claimed she was pivotal in helping President Trump change his mind about the separation of children from their families.

This latest incident comes on the heels of a New York Times report that federal health officials have asked the Pentagon to prepare to house as many as 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children on military bases.

Maybe Melania was practicing her new mantra, Be Best. But maybe not, because Trump’s next tweet echoed the same policy he’s always professed: “We have to maintain strong borders or we will no longer have a country that we can be proud of – and if we show any weakness, millions of people will journey into our country.” If only the Native Americans had the same policy, right?

Hrag Vartanian is editor-in-chief and co-founder of Hyperallergic.

2 replies on “Melania Trump Walks into Hot Water at the Border with “I Really Don’t Care, Do U?” Jacket”

  1. A child, a child bride and a kindergarten governing your country – When are you going to wise-up America. Do something about them!

  2. it may not have been intentional to outwardly express the thought, but at least it was honest.

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