It’s becoming ever more apparent that those at The Washington Post are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS).
The Post’s longtime fashion critic, Robin Givhan, penned a not-so-subtle piece on Tuesday headlined “Melania Trump’s Christmas decorations are lovely, but that coat looks ridiculous.”
Yes, the once-great newspaper decided to use a happy little story about the first lady’s Christmas decorations to blast her fashion sense.
“First Lady Melania Trump unveiled this year’s White House Christmas decorations in a gauzy video in which she strolls through the public rooms marveling at their holiday luster. She gingerly adjusts a single red rose in a lush floral swag draped over a mantelpiece and delicately sprinkles glittery faux snow on one of the many white-decorated trees. The theme this year is ‘The Spirit of America’ and the dominant color is wintry white with festive bursts of holiday red. It’s all quite lovely. So there’s that,” Givhan writes.
Then she rips Melania Trump — for her coat.
For her tour, 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.
OK, let’s unpack that. “The coat is a distraction.” Hmm. Maybe. Watch the video below and you can decide. A “discomforting affectation?” “Ludicrous?” That’s seems a bit of an over-read. But to say the coat draped over her shoulders “exudes cold, dismissive aloofness?” That’s just pure hatred from a TDS sufferer.
Givhan lets the hate flow from there.
“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 writes. “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.”
But she continues to fixate on the coat, saying it is “a way of not having to be fully present.” And she takes one more swipe at the first lady, concluding her piece by saying: “She has asked that she be judged on what she does rather than what she wears. But as both a host and a guest, her attire would be less attention-grabbing if she took off her coat and indicated that she was happy to stay a while.”
“The Spirit of America” is shining in the @WhiteHouse! I am delighted to share this beautiful exhibit of patriotism for all to see, and excited for everyone to experience the beauty of the #Christmas season! pic.twitter.com/qGxxl9qBrd
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) December 2, 2019
Others liberal outlets also bashed the first lady. The Daily Beast reported that Melania’s “joyless Christmas decorations are back to haunt your dreams.” Mother Jones said she “displays virtually no enthusiasm for anything other than periodically straightening something that the lazy servants apparently didn’t get quite right.”
For the record, Melania Trump is a fashion icon and a former world-famous model. But women in the mainstream media still love to bash her for her clothes.
At the State of the Union Address in 2018, Melania wore a cream-colored pantsuit made by Christian Dior, a white Dolce & Gabbana blouse, and tan Christian Louboutin pumps.
CNN White House reporter Kate Bennett saw something much more nefarious in Melania’s choice of “white.”
“Remember last year the female Democratic senators all wore white. A bunch of them to protest Trump’s policies against women. So there was even a hashtag, ‘#WomenWearWhite.’ Listen, it could be a total coincidence, but I just find a lot of the stuff she does these days, to look at it twice,” Bennett said.