This Photo Of Melania Trump Has Twitter Making A New Case For "Fake Melania"
Melania Trump spent Friday, March 8 touring tornado devastation in Alabama — or did she? Twitter, for yet another time, thinks the first lady may have used a body double to stand in her place, and the tweets are going all in on this theory. Elite Daily reached out to the White House for comment on the conspiracy theory, but did not hear back by the time of publication. These tweets about "fake Melania" in Alabama might even have you scratching your head.
Trump, along with the president, visited Beauregard, Alabama on Friday to observe the damage inflicted by tornadoes that ravaged through the area on March 3 and resulted in the deaths of 23 people, per USA Today. While visiting a memorial for the victims, the pair was photographed and something looks... off about Trump, according to Twitter. For starters, people pointed out that she's wearing flats — sneakers, at that — which is a rarity for the first lady. According to people on Twitter, her face shape is also raising concerns (apparently her chin appears narrower in this photo than in others), and the final nail in the coffin for "fake Melania" theorists is that she appears to be holding hands with the president, which is pointed out to be at odds with all the times Trump has seemingly rejected the gesture.
Of course, everyone knows from their experiences of having photos taken of them that lighting, angles, and perspective can affect how you appear in the final image. While "fake Melania" is an amusing way to waste time on the internet, it's highly unlikely that the first lady has a secret body double.
Even so, people on Twitter sliced and diced this photo with endless takes.
Twitter users just cannot deal.
Representatives for Trump did not immediately return Elite Daily's request for comment on the matter, but Stephanie Grisham shut down similar claims back in 2017, telling CNN at the time, "Once again, we find ourselves consumed with a ridiculous non-story when we could be talking about the work the first lady is doing on behalf of children, including the opioid crisis that is gripping our nation."
For a refresher, the 2017 claims came when Trump and the president were recorded during a trip to Iran. While Donald was being interviewed about health care, Trump stood on the side of him, dressed in what Twitter thought was "body double attire" (dark shades and a trench coat), without ever saying a word. Even more concerning to the conspiracy theorists was the fact that Donald, at one point, reportedly said, "My wife Melania, who happens to be right here" because, well, it was obvious. After that, Trump nodded along in a suspicious manner at which point Twitter exploded with conspiracy theories
"This is not Melania," Joe Vargas, who Vox credits as the first person to start the "Fake Melania" conspiracy theory, tweeted in response the interview. "To think they would go this far & try & make us think its her on TV is mind blowing. Makes me wonder what else is a lie." Again, Grisham dismissed the claims as untrue at the time.
Unsurprisingly, the tweet opened the floodgates for jokes and memes about the situation, including:
Oof.
While I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation behind this (I mean, even the Secret Service has denied the use of body doubles), it seems to be karma for all the conspiracies the president has spread himself, including that climate change may not be real and that President Obama was not born in the United States (though he later admitted that Obama was born in the U.S.) Elite Daily previously reached out to the White House for comment on both matters, but did not hear back.
When it comes to peddling conspiracy theories, I guess it is true that what goes around comes around.
